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SERMONS 


ON 

DIFFERENT  SUBJECTS, 

DELIVERED 

IN  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA, 

BY 

« 

REV.  EDWARD  NORRIS  KIRK,  A.  M., 

LATE  PASTOR  OF  THE  FOURTH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY  SAMUEL  HANSON  COX,  D.  D. 

* And  this  I pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in  knowledge, 
and  in  all  judgment.”  Phil.  i.  9. 


FIFTH  EDITION  REVISED. 


NEW- YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY  DAYTON  AND  SAXTON, 

CORNER  OF  FULTON  AND  NASSAU  STREETS. 


Boston — Saxton  & Peirce. 

1842. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840, 
By  WILLIAM  A.  THOMPSON, 
in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


STEREOTYPED  BY 
FRANCIS  F.  RIPLEY, 
NEW  YORK. 


P.  W.  BENEDICT,  PRINTER. 


'Tt 

iV  C) 

K Ps-? 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

• 

The  Author  of  the  following  Sermons  has 
specially  requested  the  publishers  to  state,  that 
“ an  application  for  a set  of  discourses  in  man- 
uscript was  positively  refused ; from  an  aver- 
sion to  appearing,  in  present  circumstances,  as 
an  author.  The  Sermons  now  published,  were 
already  public  property ; and  the  only  agency, 
whether  benevolent  or  indifferent,  which  the 
author  has  exercised  in  the  matter,  was,  to 
furnish  a worthy  but  indigent  fellow-Christian 
some  facilities  for  collecting  the  pamphlets, 
especially  those  published  abroad.” 


09*38 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

Introduction. — By  Samuel  Hanson  Cox,  D.  D., 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 7 

SERMON  I. 

Agreement  with  God. — Preached  in  Surrey 
Chapel,  London,  27 

SERMON  II. 

Man’s  Natural  Enmity  to  God. — Published 
in  London  in  the  “ Pulpit,” 45 

SERMON  III. 

Obligations  of  Young  Men. — Preached  in  be- 
half of  the  British  and  Foreign  Young  Men’s 
Society.  Published  in  London, 65 

SERMON  IV. 

Jesus  the  Great  Missionary. — Preached  in 
Boston,  at  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Samuel  Wol- 
cott, as  Missionary  to  Syria,  93 

SERMON  Y. 

The  Christian  Ministry. — Preached  at  Ches- 
runt  College,  near  London, 127 

l* 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  VI. 

The  Nature  and  Influence  of  Maternal 
Associations. — Preached  in  Surrey  Chapel,- 


London, 155 

SERMON  VII.  f 

Sermon  to  Children. — Preached  in  Surrey 
Chapel,  London,  181 

SERMON  VIII. 

Practical  love  to  Christ. — Preached  in  Isl- 
ington Chapel,  London, 199 

SERMON  IX. 

Temperance  and  Religion. — Preached  in  Lock- 
fields  Chapel,  Walworth  London, 217 


SERMON  X. 

The  Traffic  in  Alcohol. — Preached  in  Albany,  255 


SERMON  XI. 

Valedictory  Sermon. — Preached  in  Albany,  . 297 
Addresses  to  Promote  the  Revival  of  Re- 
ligion.— Delivered  in  Surrey  Chapel,  London. 

ADDRESS  I.  . . ! 329 

ADDRESS  II 341 

ADDRESS  III.  353 


INTRODUCTION. 


BY  SAMUEL  HANSON  COX,  D.  D.  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 

( Second  Edition  Enlarged .) 

These  sermons  have  all  been  published  before.  One 
of  them,  the  eleventh  in  the  series,  was  the  valedictory  of  the 
Author  to  the  people  of  his  former  charge,  before  leaving 
the  country,  three  years  since.  Another,  the  fourth,  was 
delivered  and  published  in  Boston,  last  Autumn,  on  an  oc- 
casion solemn  and  interesting,  the  Ordination  of  a Mis- 
sionary. And  one  other,  the  tenth,  was  published  in 
Albany  some  years  since.  The  others  were  all  published 
in  London,  where  they  were  delivered  to  listening  crowds, 
who  were  not  willing  that  they  should  be  enjoyed  only 
in  the  hearing,  or  realized  alone  in  the  delivery.  Hence, 
in  different  ways,  they  procured  their  publication.  And 
hence  it  is  that  many  a pious  family  here  and  there  in  the 
metropolis  and  other  parts  of  Great  Britain,  retain,  as 
precious  relics,  and  justly  valued  mementos,  of  a beloved 
American  preacher  of  the  gospel,  a copy,  and  collect- 
ively thousands  of  copies,  of  the  sermons  of  our  esteemed 
countryman. 

We  are  not  surprised  if  among  ourselves  should  be 
the  demand  or  the  desire  for  their  appearance  in  the  com- 
bined and  convenient  form  of  a volume.  Their  Author 
has  many  friends,  in  the  cities  and  neighborhoods  of  his 
native  country,  to  whom  such  a counsellor  would  be  a 
comforter,  such  a companion  a constant  and  salutary 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


friend.  And  yet  it  is  only  an  act  of  justice  to  our  Author, 
to  make  the  community  acquainted  with  the  motives,  and 
the  proximate  causes,  that  have  induced  the  present  pub- 
lication. This  the  more,  that  his  present  distinguished 
career  as  a preacher,  might  otherwise  prejudice  or  per- 
vert the  estimate  of  the  community. 

Its  present  appearance,  truth  to  say,  is  the  result  of  a 
peculiar  development  of  benevolence.  The  proceeds  of 
the  publication  are  to  be  devoted  to  an  object,  which 
enlightened  Christianity  will  approve,  and  which  the 
heart  at  least  of  every  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — 
and  of  some  more  especially  than  others — cannot  regard 
without  the  deepest  sympathy.  Our  Author  yields  his 
volume,  that  its  proceeds  may  assist  indigent  students  in 
their  course  preparatory  to  the  ministry. 

And  may  we  here  insert  a plea  in  behalf  of  hundreds, 
it  may  be,  who  are  laboring  up  the  hill,  with  patience, 
perseverance,  and  penury ; the  noblemen  of  grace  and  of 
nature  too,  but  not  of  fortune,  or  titles,  or  rank  ; whose 
object,  ingenuously  pursued,  shows  excellence  of  no 
common  kind ; and  yet  who  are  estimated  as  they  de- 
serve, by  very  few  of  their  cotemporaries.  Possibly,  to  a 
mind  like  that  of  our  Author,  the  reality  might  have  been 
imagined,  even  if  not  identified  in  any  recent  instance. 
We  have  all  seen  such  instances,  and  the  public  ought  not 
to  be  wholly  ignorant  of  their  existence. 

To  such  petitioners,  what  ordinary  hardness  could 
conclude  a refusal  ? A Christian,  and  a minister  of 
Christ,  should  not  be  made  of  sterner  stuff,  than  refined 
humanity  in  other  spheres  of  life.  Nor  is  our  statement 
a mere  hypothesis  for  illustration.  O ! it  is,  in  its  basis, 
history,  veritable  and  real,  as  hundreds  of  affecting  in- 
stances attest.  And  what,  to  a mind  of  delicate  and  no- 
ble texture,  and  at  the  same  time  saturated  with  the  influ- 
ences of  grace,  what  might  melt  one  sooner,  into  a 


INTRODUCTION. 


9 


generous  and  practical  sympathy,  than  to  behold  or  con- 
template such  a spectacle  ! A brother  in  the  Lord — a 
young  brother — a devoted  and  self-denied  disciple — a 
candidate  for  the  ministry:  one  that  has  felt  want  and 
dreaded  to  feel  it  more  ; that  has  toiled  by  night  and  day  ; 
that  has  shrunk  from  no  labor,  mental  or  manual ; that 
has  endured  privation,  without  repining,  for  the  constrain- 
ing love  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  encouraging  hope  of 
preaching  him  ; that  has  done  all  this,  and  done  it  for 
years — done  this,  and  more,  and  more,  in  a catalogue  that 
might  be  lengthened,  with  items  of  truth,  more  wonderful 
than  those  of  fancy  or  romance  ! A youth,  of  principles 
too  ethereal  to  be  appreciated  in  this  intractable  world, 
aspiring  devoutly  towards  an  office  which  inspiration 
hath  defined  as  a good  work , and  worthy  of  the  best  de- 
sire of  the  human  bosom  ; such  an  one,  applying  his 
mind  to  its  mighty  and  appropriate  labors  of  prepara- 
tion, with  vigils,  fastings,  and  exposures  ; — and  all  this, 
augmented  by  the  utter  destitution  of  necessary  pecuni- 
ary means!  O what  obstacles,  cumulative,  unbearable, 
and  wrong  ! May  it  not  be  sin  to  them,  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  who  know  these  things  of  the  noble  young 
servants  of  the  Church,  and  roll  in  wealth  and  luxury, 
and  profess  religion,  and  have  hope  towards  God  through 
the  gospel,  and  yet — do  nothing  to  assist  those  prin- 
cipled aspirants,  those  devoted  candidates,  those  studi- 
ous spiritual  cadets,  who  are  in  process  of  training  for 
official  trust  and  duty  in  the  high  jplaces  of  the  field  ; and 
who  deserve  well  of  Christians,  of  mankind,  and  of  all 
posterity  ! The  assiduities  and  trials,  consequent  or  con- 
comitant, in  their  curriculum  of  preliminary  study,  are 
quite  enough,  in  all  human  reasonableness,  without  break- 
ing their  courage  against  mountains  interposed, 


And  poverty’s  unconquerable  bar. 


1G 


I INTRODUCTION. 


There  are  several  reasons  why  such  examples  are  not 
appreciated  by  the  public.  The  first  is  ignorance  ; or, 
what  is  much  the  same,  an  utter  absence  of  reflection  on 
the  facts  of  the  case.  Another  is  the  allied  consequence 
of  the  former — a disparagement  of  the  value  of  sound 
learning  in  the  ministry,  or  a contempt  of  the  manner  in 
which  alone  it  can  be  acquired.  The  time,  the  toil,  the 
trial,  and  the  cost,  the  severe  and  the  necessary  process 
of  qualification,  who  knows,  that  has  no  experience  in 
such  conflicts  ? Again,  the  circuity  and  remoteness  of 
the  path,  the  indirectness  of  the  promise ! A preacher 
in  the  field,  if  wise  and  zealous  and  eloquent,  is  felt  and 
loved.  But  who  sympathizes  with  the  student?  who 
considers  the  means  that  were  plied  to  prepare  the 
preacher  ? the  difficulties  through  which  he  rose  to  emi- 
nence ; and  the  necessity  of  recruiting  the  service,  by  a 
process  as  long,  as  pains-taking,  as  costly,  as  that  which 
enables  the  accomplished  preacher  to  grace  the  pulpit 
with  manly  and  masterly  displays  of  the  truth  ? The 
preacher  himself  considers  them  ; and  almost  none  be- 
side ! Here,  then,  is  the  secret  of  our  volume’s  appear- 
ance. Our  Author  virtually  says  to  his  young  brethren, 
66  If  it  can  assist  you,  behold,  it  is  at  your  service.”  This, 
it  strikes  us,  may  have  been  mainly  the  process,  by  which 
his  mind  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  to  give  these  sermons 
to  the  public,  in  their  present  form.  And  surely  his 
countrymen,  in  their  candor  and  their  piety,  will  gener- 
ously estimate  the  deed.  We  know  they  will ; nor  do  weA 
anticipate  the  cynic  who  shall  constitute  the  exception. 
The  request,  we  doubt  not,  was  on  their  part  modest  and 
retiring  ! But  he  could  see  and  feel  its  force  instantane- 
ously ; and  we  commend  his  decision.  May  the  present 
writer  be  pardoned,  if  this  seems  too  ideal,  or  inappro- 
priate, or  imaginary  ! But  he  has  witnessed  and  compas- 
sionated, especially  within  the  last  seven  years,  and  con- 


INTRODUCTION. 


II 


tinually  to  this  time,  too  many  facts  in  proof,  to  doubt  the 
correctness  of  the  delineation.  Perhaps  others  may  im- 
peach it  for  exactly  opposite  reasons  ; that  it  seems  not 
ideal,  not  inapposite,  not  imaginary.  To  either  class  he 
would  say,  The  moral  of  it,  is  the  whole  of  it.  If  Mr. 
Kirk  feels  for  these  young  men,  let  others  copy  his  ex- 
ample. If  he  assists  them,  reader,  Go  thou , and  do  like- 
wise. Our  object  in  this  connection  is  not  so  much  to  ex- 
plain the  issuing  of  the  sermons,  as  to  record  a plea, 
where  it  may  be  profitably  felt,  in  behalf  of  those,  whom 
it  would  make  good  men  better  sympathetically  to  con- 
sider, and  devoutly  to  estimate  in  relation  to  the  cause  of 
Christ ; and  practically  to  befriend,  in  their  too  often 
cheerless  and  uncomforted  career  of  studious  toil,  as 
candidates  for  the  noblest  office  in  the  sublunary  gift  of 
God,  our  Savior. 

From  this  digression,  if  it  is  one,  we  recover,  with  no 
intention  of  apology  for  what  we  do  not  recall,  or  regret, 
or  perpetrate  without  design.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
courteous  reader,  and  especially  the  candid  one — a more 
excellent  and  a less  common  character — will  fully  under- 
stand, and  probably  approve,  the  conduct  of  our  Author. 
It  seems  plain  that  he  did,  what  he  ought,  in  the  circum- 
stances ; nor  do  we  anticipate,  for  him  or  others,  one  re- 
gret that  these  sermons  are  extant,  in  American  types  and 
a compact  vdlume,  as  the  consequence. 

It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  to  deal  in  commenda- 
tion, surely  not  in  panegyric.  The  sermons  speak  for 
themselves.  The  people  of  this  country,  who  care  to 
read,  can  appreciate  them  too.  The  reputation  of  our 
Author  is  neither  recent  nor  ambiguous.  Nor  is  his 
praise  confined  to  any  one  class  of  the  Churches.  Chris- 
tians of  all  denominations  crowd  to  hear  him,  and  will 
read  to  love  him  more.  If  in  either,  or  in  both  relations, 
he  can  do  them  good,  it  is  the  glorious  recompense  that 


■ 

12  INTRODUCTION. 

satisfies  the  prayer  of  his  heart.  If  God  shall  deign  to 
use  his  efforts  and  his  ministry,  to  this  end,  it  is*  gratifi 
cation  and  benediction,  whether  the  mode  of  it  be  in  the 
pulpit  or  through  the  press.  If  Paul  converted  thousands, 
by  his  preaching,  through  the  blessing  of  God,  he  has 
with  the  same  mighty  aid  saved  millions  more  by  his 
writings  ; and  by  these,  he,  being  dead , yet  speaketh , and 
will  speak,  and  bless  mankind,  till  the  trumpet  shall  sound 
and  the  dead  shall  be  raised , incorruptible. 

No  analysis  of  these  sermons,  or  comparison,  or  even 
anticipation,  of  their  qualities,  seems  here  appropriate. 
They  were  partly  occasional ; partly  and  more,  the  ordi- 
nary specimens  of  the  Author’s  ministry.  A notice  of  a 
more  general  sort,  and  an  admonitory  reflection  or  two 
may  suit  the  proper  nature  of  this  Introduction.  A ves- 
tibule need  not  be  of  the  same  material,  with  the  interior 
of  the  temple,  to  which  it  conducts  us.  It  may  be  in 
keeping,  and  in  propriety,  as  well  as  service,  if  less 
polished,  or  finished,  or  valuable ; to  say  nothing  of  its 
'proportions,  its  coloring,  or  its  taste.  If  this  volume  is 
to  pass  the  ordeal  of  criticism,  if  it  is  to  be  tried  in  the 
crucibles  of  the  schools  or  the  parties,  if  it  is  to  be  tor- 
tured by  malignity,  or  stung  by  envy,  or  probed  by  heart- 
less impudence,  we  have  only  to  say  that  it  will  have 
friends  as  well  as  foes ; that  there  are  Reviews,  Christian 
in  fact,  as  well  as  in  pretension  ; and  that  if  abused  and 
evil  entreated,  it  will  only  seem  to  join  the  goodly  fellow- 
ship of  prophets  and  apostles,  and  to  be  partaker  of  their 
sufferings  and  their  honors,  because  it  is  one  spirit  with 
them,  and  with  their  common  and  glorious  Master. 

We  submit,  in  order,  the  following  remarks : 

1.  We  Americans  ought  to  value  this  publication  for 
national  reasons.  It  is  a native  production.  Its  Author 
is  our  own  countryman.  He  has  been  appreciated  abroad,  * 
and  deserves  to  be  cherished  at  home.  We  have  too 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


little  national  feeling  of  this  refined  and  proper  sort. 
We  are  too  servile  to  what  is  foreign,  as  if  nothing  good 
could  come  from  ourselves.  Is  this  noble  or  ignoble, 
worthy  or  base,  helpful  or  injurious  ? 

What  was  once  said,  by  the  indignant  muse  of  Pope, 
to  the  theatre-going  populace  of  London,  on  occasion  of 
introducing  Addison’s  great  tragedy  of  Cato,  and  in  his 
admired  prologue  to  that  celebrated  production,  we  might 
be  allowed  to  say,  with  some  venturous  accommodations 
in  this  place,  to  the  literary  and  religious  public  of  our 
own  country  : 

Our  taste  precariously  subsists  too  long 
On  coarse  translation  or  imported  song. 

Dare  to  have  sense  yourselves ! Assert  the  age  ; — 

Be  justly  warmed  with  your  own  native  page. 

Such  works  alone  should  suit  our  eye  or  ear, 

As  Paul  himself  might  choose  to  see  or  hear. 

And  purer  far,  if  plainer,  strong  in  truth, 

Our  pulpit  speaks  to  listening  age  and  youth. 

Conviction  ponders  well  its  thoughts  and  words, 

And  converts  show  how  God  the  cause  regards. 

Be  Christian  truth  our  ornament  and  crown, 

Our  best  nobility,  our  just  renown  ! 

In  wealth  like  these,  America,  excel, 

And  show  the  world  the  art  of  dying  well. 

Not  here  the  church  is  propp’d  upon  the  state; 

Much  more  the  church  sustains  the  nation  great. 

With  greater  blessedness,  ’tis  hers  to  give ; 

While,  as  she  prospers,  other  interests  live. 

And  O ! may  righteousness  exalt  our  fame, 

And  give  to  all  a Christian  freeman’s  name  ! 

Be  this  our  nation’s  prayer,  “ Thy  kingdom  come 
Be  God  our  monarch,  this  Religion’s  home  ! — 

While  every  virtue  flourishes  confess’d, 

Our  country’s  made,  by  grace  and  truth,  the  best ! 

2 


14 


INTRODUCTION. 


We  have  not  changed  or  tortured  the  original,  for  more 
than  one  fourth  of  this  metrical  impromptu;  and  as  to  the 
whole  of  it,  we  have  only  to  say,  that  the  sentiments  may 
be  commended  or  approved,  by  Americans,  without  hold- 
ing their  judgment  responsible  for  the  versification — for 
which,  in  truth,  we  nothing  comparatively  care.  In  this 
connection,  the  sentiment  is  all.  Our  literature  will  never 
rise  even  to  its  proper  level,  till  we  appreciate  it  wisely 
ourselves  ; till  we  know  how  to  assert  the  prerogatives  of 
men,  to  think,  and  then  to  write,  without  affectation,  ser- 
vility, or  insincerity,  aiming  at  usefulness  and  truth.  Our 
very  defects  ought  to  stimulate  our  achievements  ; as  they 
show  the  ample  opportunity  that  invites  success.  Our 
literature  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  our  reputation  in  abeyance. 
But  our  theological  contributions  are  very  far  from  pecu- 
liarly or  disproportionately  few  and  inconsiderable.  Our 
Edwards  has  illustrated  our  literary  and  ecclesiastical 
character  in  two  hemispheres.  Our  Davies,  and  our 
Dwight,  and  our  Mason,  and  our  Griffin,  are  only  a 
few  other  specimen  stars  of  numerous  constellations  that 
spangle  our  western  firmament,  where  they  shone,  so  dis- 
tinguished, as  the  angels  of  the  churches  and  the  glory 
of  Christ . And  though  the  first  name  in  this  series  is 
justly  viewed  as  peerless  and  incomparable,  as  the  one  that 
44  dwells  at  the  top  of  metaphysical  Niphates,  and  has 
pitched  his  tabernacle  in  the  eye  of  day yet,  without  at 
all  disparaging  so  much  eminence,  and  conceding  the 
mighty  sweep  of  his  posthumous  influence  and  his  solid 
renown,  present  and  prospective,  on  all  the  metaphysics, 
and  on  all  the  demonstrations  of  theological  philosophy, 
in  our  schools,  our  pulpits,  and  our  very  parlors,  we  aver, 
that  we  have  many  practical  agents,  less  brilliant,  it  may 
be,  rather  than  less  useful,  that  move  in  a sphere  more 
noiseless  and  less  envied,  but  not  less  excellent,  and  who 
are  preparing  probably  for  a plaudit  and  a premium  from 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


the  Holy  Judge  Eternal,  which  will  be  second  to  that  of 
few,  who  more  conspicuously  figure  in  the  almost  apothe- 
osis of  human  blandishment,  or  who  may  radiate  brightest 
in  the  almost  Pantheon  of  the  admiration  of  posterity. 

Every  worthy  contribution  to  the  theological  or  devo- 
tional literature  of  a country,  helps  its  influence  abroad, 
as  well  as  proportionately  augments  its  excellence  at  home. 
The  whole  nation  has  an  interest  in  it.  It  is  something 
done  for  mankind.  It  is  an  example  of  what  is,  and  a de- 
monstration of  what  might  be,  and  an  incentive  to  what 
shall  be,  which  may  well  provoke  and  assist  the  achieve- 
ments of  others.  Besides,  it  tends  to  promote  that  interest 
in  our  national  home,  while  it  at  the  same  time  illumines 
and  enriches  it,  without  which  patriotism,  if  it  be  a pas- 
sion, is  not  a principle,  and  religion,  if  it  be  a reality,  is 
not  a symmetry.  Pride  is  not  patriotism,  even  if  it  be  na- 
tional. Nor  is  patriotism  itself  a virtue,  unless  it  be  the 
offspring  of  some  more  generic  principle  of  moral  excel- 
lence ; unless  it  be  associated  with  all  the  other  sisters  of 
the  family  of  virtue.  Now,  there  are  just  two  declarations 
of  the  King  of  the  Universe  and  the  Lord  of  Destinies,  which 
wise  men  will  consider  as  immoveably  at  the^very  founda- 
tions at  once  of  patriotism  and  national  safety  ; which 
statesmen  and  politicians  often  superficially  avoid;  and 
which  God,  in  his  providential  dealings  even  with  our 
own  dear  selves,  chooses  never  to  forget,  or  violate,  or  in- 
termit. We  will  state  them,  and  endeavor  briefly  to  show 
their  probable  relation  to  this  volume.  The  first  is — 
Righteousness  exalteth  a nation  ; but  sin  is  a re- 
proach to  any  people.  Need  we  here  insist  that  the 
presence  of  the  former  is  the  absence  of  the  latter  ; and 
that  the  predominance  of  that  which  reproacheth , is  the 
proportional  diminution  of  that  which  exalteth  ? or  that 
nothing  can  truly  supersede  the  dishonor,  except  that  only 
which  constitutes  the  exaltation  ? or  that  it  were  folly  and 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 


impiety  to  hope  for  exaltation,  in  any  other  than  a way  of 
righteousness  ; and  that  neither  arrogance,  nor  conceit, 
nor  proud  imaginings,  will  avail,  to  dissolve  or  subdue 
our  reproach , in  the  absence  of  that  alone  which  heaven 
has  ordained  as  the  method  of  the  divine  protection  ? 
Hence  the  second  declaration — For,  saith  the  prophet 
addressing  God,  the  nation  and  kingdom  that  will 

NOT  SERVE  THEE  SHALL  PERISH  ; YEA,  THOSE  NATIONS 
SHALL  BE  UTTERLY  WASTED. 

Solemn  words  ! How  they  speak  to  the  mind  of  re- 
flection and  the  soul  of  wisdom ! Here,  O our  country, 
our  own  dear  country,  our  precious  and  spacious  Ameri- 
ca, our  young  and  venturous,  our  vast  and  wonderful,  our 
highly-favored  and  dearly-beloved,  world  of  the  Great 
Occident,  here,  O our  aspiring  and  noble  country,  is  writ- 
ten the  sentence  of  thy  destiny — thy  glory,  if  obedient, 
thy  desolation,  if  perverse  ! Here  are  the  pivots  on  which 
turns  inevitably  the  signal  of  thy  weal  or  thy  wo ; and  all 
other  or  adverse  things  shall  be  as  nothing  in  their  stabil- 
ity and  their  prevalence. 

Now,  we  minister  to  the  national  welfare,  when  we  give 
to  the  mass  of  the  popular  mind,  the  moral  leaven  that 
promotes  its  righteousness,  and  so  assists  its  exaltation. 
W e do  the  state  some  service.  We  promote  correct  sen- 
timent, we  increase  piety,  we  encourage  prayer.  And  we 
say,  with  a great  man  now  at  home,  we  trust,  in  heaven,* 
“ I have  more  confidence  in  one  praying  pauper,  than  in 
forty  fighting  generals,  with  no  prayer.  God  alone  can 
protect  us.” 

2.  In  reference  to  a volume  of  sermons,  while  we 
should  not  patronize  every  thing,  we  should  encourage  a 
due  proportion  of  sound  and  popular  reading  of  the  re- 
ligious kind.  Sermons  indeed  are  not  very  marketable. 


* The  late  Dr.  Mason. 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


They  are  often  not  vendible,  but  only,  as  we  say,  a drug 
and  a surfeit.  Their  very  name  is  a soporific,  and  no 
one  thinks  of  valuing  them  as  other  books  are  valued. 
But  should  this  be  so,  Christians?  May  not  even  sermons 
be  entertaining,  as  well  as  useful  ? Ought  not  the  parlor 
library  to  be  enriched,  and  even  the  centre-table  to  be 
adorned,  with  them  ? Besides,  sermons  mark  and  iden- 
tify the  age.  Our  posterity  will  talk  of  our  revivals,  our 
cast  and  grade  of  piety,  our  times,  our  learning,  our 
preachers,  and  our  Christians.  Why  not  preserve  a 
few  specimens,  and  send  a few  missives,  that  may  tell 
them,  what  something  better  than  laudable  curiosity 
might  lead  them  to  desire  and  to  learn,  of  the  generations 
of  their  ancestors  ? 

3.  This  is  too  much  a hearing  age,  and  not  enough 
proportionately  a reading  and  cogitative  one  in  religion. 

There  is  a class  of  devout  religionists  among  our- 
selves, who  are  characterized  by  their  feelings  mainly, 
rather  than  their  intelligence.  They  want  none  of  your 
head  religion — none  of  your  prosing  doctrinal  preach- 
ing— none  of  your  preachers  that  are  so  learned — none  of 
your  discussions  in  the  pulpit — none  of  your  controver- 
sies— nothing  to  make  men  think. — All  they  want  in  reli- 
gion is  feeling.  Engagedness  is  all.  They  test  every  thing 
by  zeal  and  feel.  They  go  for  heart  religion.  This  ‘ suits 
the  age  !’  There  is  no  sense  in  reading  and  studying  so 
much.  They  would  set  us  all  to  praying,  feeling,  acting, 
and  converting  sinners  ; but  not  to  thinking,  apprehend- 
ing, comprehending,  studying  what  the  Scripture  says 
and  what  the  Scripture  means,  not  to  reading,  or  medita- 
tion, and  least  of  all  to  excel  in  knowledge  unto  all  riches 
of  the  full  assurance  of  understanding  in  the  things  of 
God.  Theirs  is  a religion  of  sensation,  and  as  unfit  to  en- 
dure affliction,  to  deserve  confidence,  to  authorize  depend- 
ence, and  to  stand  the  test  of  martyrdom,  as  it  is  to  teach 

2* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

dogmatical  theology  to  an  amphitheatre  of  philosophers 

or,  as  steam  is  unfit  to  control  the  helm  of  the  Great 

Western,  or  the  British  Queen,  in  her  mystic  way,  which 
science  alone  can  guide,  across  the  ocean. 

To  such,  if  they  could  suffer  the  monition  of  a friend, 
we  would  say,  not  zeal,  but  wisdom  is  profitable  to  direct . 
Knowledge  is  power,  and  feeling  without  it  is  not  good . 
Our  feelings  have  an  important  place  in  religion  ; as  steam 
has  in  navigation.  Our  feelings,  however,  were  not  given 
to  govern  us,  but  to  be  governed  by  us  ; they  are  to  be 
our  servants,  not  our  masters  ; and  never  man  was  good, 
or  useful,  or  great,  who  did  not  assert  and  maintain  that 
noble  mastery.  Look  at  Hannibal,  look  at  Edwards, 

look  at  Washington,  look  at  Napoleon,  look  at  Paul 

and  look — instar  omnium — at  ONE — of  his  own  class 
alone,  who  at  Pilate’s  bar  answered  him  nothing ! 

Those  who  have  studied  character,  and  understood  it, 
will  respond  to  these  sentiments.  We  may  be  only  grat- 
ifying our  own  natural  inclinations,  only  serving  our- 
selves, when  we  flame — and  rage — and  rush  on — in  reli- 
gion, without  reverence  or  consideration,  and  condemn 
sobriety  and  sense  in  our  despised  superiors.  Now,  one 
rure — and  a good  one — for  this  holy  obstreperousness, 
is  to  feed  the  mind  with  truth — to  study  the  Scriptures — 
to  read  sermons — and  in  all,  or  above  all,  to  think?  O 
this  neglected  function  of  our  existence  ? this  most  dig- 
nifying faculty  of  our  nature,  when  rightly  cultivated  and 
proportionately  used ; this  most  degrading  accompani- 
ment, when  abused,  or  neglected,  or  superseded  by  the 
mere  animalism  of  feeling ! That  class  of  hearers,  that 
exemplify  the  stony  ground  in  the  parable,  are  there  de- 
scribed, by  our  Lord,  as  full  of  feeling,  promptitude,  de- 
cision, ignorance,  and  spurious  affections.  He  heareth 
the  word , and  anon  with  joy  receiveth  it . Yet  hath  he  not 
root  in  himself ; and  therefore  is  it  that  his  religion  soon 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


evanishes.  He  dureth  for  a while — by  and  by  he  is 
offended . And  thus  is  he  contradistinguished  from  the 
good  ground  hearer;  who  heareth  the  word  and  under- 
standeth  it;  who  also  beareth  fruit,  and  bringeth 
forth , some  an  hundred  fold , some  sixty , some  thirty . 

Feeling  is  a kind  of  half-way  house,  in  which  the  sin- 
ner loves  to  loiter,  for  entertainment,  between  objects  of 
sense,  which  affect  animals,  and  objects  of  faith,  which 
affect  angels.  He  abjures  the  grossness  of  external  ob- 
jects as  influential  of  his  way  ; but  he  clings  to  internal 
affections  as  their  substitute  ; instead  of  apprehending, 
by  faith  in  the  true  sayings  of  God , the  things  that  are 
unseen  and  eternal . Internal  sensation  is  no  more  faith, 
than  external  objects  that  affect  our  organs  of  sense.  The 
appropriate  design  of  the  ministry  is  godly  edifying, 
which  is  in  faith.  Hence,  says  the  apostle  to  Timothy, 
so  do.  And  with  this  design,  in  all  things,  ought  private 
Christians  devoutly  to  concur,  for  its  uniform  promotion. 
Other  edifying  may  not  he  godly,  even  if  it  be  agreeable. 
And  he  who  simply  trusts  his  feelings,  and  cares  not  for 
the  difference,  is  pronounced  by  inspiration  to  be  insane. 
Prov.  xxviii.  26.  Heb.  v.  14.  He  cares  not  for  the  gos- 
pel, for  salvation,  or  even  for  God  himself. 

We  desire  that  these  sermons  may  not  only  be  sold, 
but  read — pondered — digested — improved.  This  imports 
a cast  of  character  whose  auguries  are  hopeful.  It  is  the 
clean  and  the  useful  animals  in  the  law,  that  ruminate ; 
not  the  unclean,  the  carnivorous,  the  savage ; oxen  and 
sheep  ; not  wolves,  hyenas,  dogs,  or  swine.  Hence  these 
are  types  of  cogitative  worshippers  ; of  them  that  feed 
on  the  truth  ; who  live  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out 
of  the  mouth  of  God ; who  relish  the  truth,  and  digest  it, 
and  grow  thereby — grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ. 

Suppose  these  ten  sermons  were  read  systematically — 


20 


INTRODUCTION. 


regularly — thoughtfully — with  memory  exercised — with 
application — with  definite  desire  to  obey  the  Master — to 
be  converted  to  God,  if  yet  we  are  alienate  from  him ; 
or,  to  be  advanced  in  holiness,  if  we  have  genuinely  be- 
gun our  journey:  suppose  this,  my  youthful  reader,  espe- 
cially, in  your  case.  One,  every  Lord’s  day,  well  read, 
would  bring  you  through  the  series,  nearly,  in  two 
months.  And  if,  like  the  noble  Bereans,  you  should  receive 
the  word  with  all  readiness  of  mind , and  search  the  Scrip- 
tures daily , whether  these  things  are  so,  and  especially  if 
you  should  join  sincere  prayer  to  the  exercise,  for  the 
blessing  of  God  to  crown  its  process  with  salvation,  what 
good  immense  should  certainly  ensue  ! On  these  condi- 
tions, what  a blessing  should  this  volume  be,  in  the  circle 
of  every  family  it  could  enter  ! It  would  resemble  the 
ark  of  the  Lord  in  the  household  of  Obed-edom,  where  the 
Lord,  for  its  sake,  blessed  his  house  and  all  that  pertained 
unto  him. 

We  venture  another  remark. 

4.  The  directions  given  to  the  unconverted,  in  these 
sermons,  appear  to  exemplify  the  rare  merit  of  correct 
and  scriptural,  appropriate  and  convincing,  excellent  and 
prosperous!  We  may  not  assert  that  these  qualities  are 
exhibited  in  perfection,  but  that  they  are  here  in  happy 
illustrations  and  examples — and  that  they  are  far  too  rare, 
even  in  the  ministrations  of  eminence. 

The  absence  of  these  qualities,  with  the  faults  that 
appear  in  place  of  them,  often  constitutes  the  cardinal 
defect,  in  sermons  otherwise  distinguished  and  incom- 
parable. These  preachers  can  distinguish  well  between 
a sinner  and  a saint ; they  can  define  a Christian,  depic- 
ture him  in  his  various  changes  and  relations  of  life,  with 
his  trials,  his  privileges,  and  his  prospects,  and  commend 
him  to  the  desire  and  the  imitation  of  all  hearers.  So  also 
of  a sinner  in  contrast.  They  can  well  describe  what  he 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


is,  how  he  feels,  his  state,  his  motives,  his  false  refuges, 
his  criminality,  his  destiny,  his  apprehensions,  his  ago- 
nies ! But  there  is  something  more  to  be  done — and  this 
is  frequently  omitted,  or  never  thoroughly  despatched  and 
perfected,  perhaps  in  the  preaching  of  a lifetime.  It  is — 

To  SHOW  A SINNER  HOW  HE  MAY  BECOME  A SAINT  : and 

then,  with  suitable  appliances  of  truth,  to  persuade  men , 
and  to  pray  them,  as  though  God  did  beseech  them  by  us, 
saying,  in  a way  of  wisdom  and  appropriateness,  Be  ye 

RECONCILED  TO  GOD. 

We  aver  that  the  grand  defect  of  many  an  excellent 
sermon,  is  the  absence  of  the  proper  directions  to  the 
sinner  and  the  ungodly  man.  And  we  would  enforce  the 
sentiment  that  it  is  a fault,  which  criticism  has  been  slow 
to  arraign,  and  which  reviews  have  not  known  how  to 
censure.  The  philosophy  of  the  preacher  can  ordinarily 
account  for  it.  There  is  some  error  in  his  comprehen- 
sion of  the  gospel.  He  makes  mistakes  not  only,  but 
practically  honors  them  too,  as  the  pivots  and  centres  of 
orthodoxy.  Hence  he  glories  in  his  mistakes,  and  would 
become  a martyr  for  their  maintenance.  Some  of  these 
are  to  him,  each  as  the  star  of  Bethlehem,  shining  on 
his  way  ; or  as  the  kebla*  of  his  pilgrimage,  as  a Chris- 
tian and  a preacher.  If,  as  a lark  of  the  morning,  he 
would  soar  toward  heaven,  he  soon  ceases  to  aspire.  His 
swift  pinions  are  arrested  in  their  flight.  They  stop  sud- 
denly, because  they  are  not  so  strong  as  the  tether  that 
holds  him  back,  and  to  the  limit  of  which  he  has  too  soon 
arrived. 

* Kebla,  among  the  eastern  nations,  signifies  the  point  of  the  heavens 
toward  which  they  directed  their  worship.  The  Jews  did  it  toward  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem ; the  Mohammedans  toward  Mecca;  the  Sabians 
toward  the  meridian,  and  the  Magians  toward  the  rising  sun.  1 Kings 
viii.  44,  48.  Daniel  vi.  10.  Ps.  v.  7,  xxviii.  2.  Jonah  li.  4.  For  the  pro- 
per Kebla  of  Christians  see  Heb.  xii.  2, 


22 


INTRODUCTION. 


If  he  is  not  clear  in  his  views  as  to  the  objective  mani- 
festations, which  he  is  to  radiate  on  the  way  of  the  sinner, 
and  lavish  in  his  path  before  him,  wonder  not  should 
he  prove  equally  at  fault,  in  the  point  and  the  persuasion 
of  his  subjective  applications,  urging  the  sinner  to  walk 
in  it.  If  he  cannot  commend  to  him  the  love  of  Christ, 
not  in  the  abstract,  or  in  the  ambiguity  of  a scarcely 
intelligible  argument,  but  in  the  bold  relief  of  effective 
testimony,  saying,  “ He  died  for  you,  and  that  because 
he  loved  you ; therefore  hear  and  your  soul  shall  live” 
it  will  be  no  miracle,  if,  in  his  after  urgencies,  he  should 
ply  him  with  a weak  and  misty  and  fruitless,  although  it 
may  be  with  a loud-sounding  and  pompous,  exhortation, 
to  repent  and  believe  the  gospel . If  his  ideas  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Spirit  are  technically  wrong  or  greatly  vague 
and  dim,  he  will  be  sure  to  preach  in  a way  palpably  and 
badly  different,  from  the  way  of  the  Spirit  as  demon- 
strated in  his  own  oracles : and  the  difference  will  be  seen 
by  some,  while  it  is  felt  by  all.  If  his  views  of  depravity 
are  darkling  and  false,  one  way  or  the  other ; if  he  be- 
lieves so  much  about  it,  as  to  impair  the  moral  agency 
of  its  subject,  or  so  little  about  it,  as  to  excuse,  reduce, 
or  slight  the  awful  malady  of  his  state ; how  poor,  effete, 
or  awry,  will  be  his  ministrations  ! If  he  refer,  awkwardly 
or  in  confusion,  to  the  passive  relations  of  the  sinner, 
where  God  refers  to  his  active  ones  ; if  his  statements 
are  not  spiritual  or  moral,  but  mechanical  and  material- 
izing rather ; if  he  unskilfully  counteracts,  where  he 
ought  only  to  subserve,  the  influences  of  the  Spirit ; or, 
makes  in  any  way,  natively,  the  wrong,  instead  of  the 
right,  impression  ; or,  if  he  truly  knows  not  how  to  direct 
the  sinner,  in  reply  to  the  Great  Question,  What  must 
I do  to  be  saved?  there  will  be  a proportionate  failure, 
in  reference  to  the  great  end  of  preaching  ! conversions 
will  be  few  and  sickly ; as  the  shaking  of  an  olive  tree , 


INTRODUCTION. 


23 


perhaps  ; two  or  three  berries  in  the  top  of  the  uppermost 
bough , four  or  five  in  the  outmost  fruitful  branches 
thereof  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ; instead  of  hundreds 
and  thousands,  covering  the  whole  tree,  richly  rewarding 
the  toil,  and  crowning  the  hopes,  of  cultivation. 

Now,  we  almost  claim  for  our  preacher,  that  he  is,  in 
these  relations,  a happy  example  of  what  ought  to  be ; 
we  do  not  say  or  mean,  a faultless  paragon  : but  one 
whom  the  Spirit  has  taught  to  do  the  work  of  the  Spirit ; 
who  speaks  with  a simplicity  and  a directness,  that  well 
approximates  our  beau  ideal  of  the  demonstrations  that 
ought  to  be  made,  in  matter,  in  manner,  in  method,  and 
in  effect ! And  let  a heaven-sped  success  be  the  commen- 
tary and  the  attestation  of  our  sentiment.  It  is  said  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas  at  Iconium,  that  they  went  both  to- 
gether into  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews , and  so  spake, 
that  a great  multitude  both  of  the  Jews  and  also  of  the 
Greeks  believed.  There  are  great  men  in  our  times,  who 
so  speak  that  nobody  believes.  They  may  amuse,  enter- 
tain, and  even  in  a sort  convince  ; but  where  is  the  “ great 
multitude”  of  converts  ! The  sovereignty  of  God,  re- 
member, is  excellent  in  ivorking , as  well  as  wonderful  in 
counsel;  and  is  not  exactly  responsible  for  those,  and 
their  doings,  who  are  plainly  unskilful  in  the  word  of 
righteousness — and  yet,  who  would  rather  confess  almost 
any  other  thing,  than  the  fact  which  others  know,  just 
as  well,  when  they  ingeniously  and  vainly  strive  to  con- 
ceal it. 

The  criterion  of  the  preaching,  which  in  our  mind’s 
eye  is  the  standard  of  all  proper  aims,  we  thus  define — 
What  the  words  of  Scripture,  purely  interpreted,  clearly 
articulated,  correctly  understood,  solemnly  delivered,  and 
powerfully  urged  ; the  effect,  which  all  this  natively  tends 
to  produce,  on  the  minds  of  the  auditory,  is  that,  in  coin- 
cidence with  which,  and  in  it  alone,  may  be  identified 


24 


INTRODUCTION. 


what  deserves  the  name  of  good  preaching,  in  proportior 
to  its  similitude  to  such  a scriptural  standard. 

In  these  remarks,  we  have  not  lost  our  object,  if  the 
reader  shall  keep  his  mind  awake  to  the  specimens  of 
their  reference,  as  he  peruses  them  in  the  present  volume. 

Nor  will  it  be  less,  but  rather  more  to  the  point,  that  the  * 
specimens  are  incidental,  popular,  informal,  and  inter- 
spersed throughout. 

5.  Our  last  remark  shall  respect  the  value,  in  this  day 
of  the  great  fecundity  of  the  press,  of  religion  and  truth 
constantly  mingled  in  all  our  ephemeral  literature.  The 
great  ideas  of  religion  and  truth,  that  may  be  safely  called 
fundamental,  are  mainly  the  following,  in  the  order  as  we 
arrange  them  : 

The  Being  of  God. 

The  accountableness  of  man  as  his  creature. 

The  Christian  revelation. 

The  immortality  of  the  soul  and  the  resurrection  of 
the  body. 

The  sinful  and  lost  estate  of  the  total  species. 

The  mediation  and  offices  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  work  of  the  Spirit. 

Personal  piety,  initial,  progressive,  and  complete. 

Glorification. 

Eternal  confirmation  and  beatitude. 

And  who  can  doubt  the  reasonableness  of  not  forget- 
ting these  ten  incomparable  things!  Well,  every  readable 
and  sound  sermon  is  a valuable  contribution  to  their 
perpetuity,  as  well  as  their  diffusion.  And  what  if  the 
belief  in  God  were  erased  from  the  moral  consciousness 
of  the  community?  All  related  truths  would  perish  from 
the  earth  ; as  would  rush  the  planets  into  ruin,  if  the  sun 
were  plucked  from  his  immoveable  centre  or  annihilated 
there.  There  could  remain  nothing  in  this  fatherless 
world,  and  nothing  in  the  future,  to  attract  our  desires  or 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


attach  us  to  existence.  But — I say  the  rest  in  the  better 
language  of  a great  preacher,  who  as  a writer  is  more 
distinguished,  especially  now  that  he  speaks  to  mortals 
only  in  his  published  works.* 

“The  idea  of  the  Supreme  Being  has  this  peculiar 
property ; that,  as  it  admits  of  no  substitute,  so,  from  the 
first  moment  it  is  formed,  it  is  capable  of  continual  growth 
and  enlargement.  God  himself  is  immutable ; but  our 
conception  of  his  character  is  continually  receiving  fresh 
accessions,  is  continually  growing  more  extended  and  re- 
fulgent, by  having  transferred  to  it  new  elements  of  beauty 
and  goodness  ; by  attracting  to  itself,  as  a centre,  what- 
ever bears  the  impress  of  dignity,  order,  or  happiness. 
It  borrows  splendor  from  all  that  is  fair,  subordinates  to 
itself  all  that  is  great,  and  sits  enthroned  on  the  riches  of 
the  universe.” 

We  think  our  publication  will  subserve  an  end  at  once 
so  great  and  so  good  ; and  our  hope  is  also  that  ends 
allied,  though  inferior,  may  be  coincidently  answered. 
With  this,  we  commend  it  to  the  benediction  of  God,  that 
he  would  use  it  to  his  own  glory  and  the  good  of  souls ; 
while  we  commit  it  humbly  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
glorious  providence.  And  may  these  introductory  re- 
flections, written — it  may  be — too  venturously,  and  under 
stress  of  time  too  little,  and  of  urgency  too  great,  to  do 
them  better,  or  adequately  to  review  or  correct  them,  be 
found  at  least  not  impeding,  if  haply  they  little  assist,  the 
great  design,  for  which  we  preach,  and  pray,  and  live, 
and  were  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

I may  add,  that  the  author  of  the  sermons  has  no  re- 
sponsibility or  knowledge,  in  reference  to  what,  in  the 
fraternal  spirit,  we  have  so  freely  written  respecting  them. 
For  this,  he,  we  know,  and  the  Christian  community,  we 
trust,  will  make  all  liberal  and  proper  allowance. 

* Robert  Hall. 

3 


SERMON  I. 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


« Can  two  walk  together , except  they  be  agreed  — - 
Amos  iii.  3. 

Order  is  the  first  law  of  Heaven’s  empire.  In  the 
material  world,  God  has  secured  it  by  absolute  power. 
In  the  world  of  mind,  his  authority  has  enjoined  it. 
And  in  the  next  state  of  human  existence,  his  omnipo- 
tent justice  will  enforce  it.  In  the  present  world,  God 
has  simply  enjoined  order  ; and  if  we  obey  not  the 
great  laws  of  moral  harmony,  we  make  our  own  hap- 
piness impossible. 

Let  us  descend  from  principles  to  fact,  and  see,  that 
if  two  are  not  agreed,  they  cannot  walk  together.  The 
enjoyments  of  friendship  demand  a harmony  of  senti- 
ment ; the  classifications  of  political  parties,  and  all  effi- 
cient party  movements,  whether  good  or  bad,  demand  it. 
How  can  a child  be  properly  trained  by  two  parents, 
whose  views  differ  on  every  important  point  of  intellect 
and  moral  education  ? What  efficiency  can  there  be 
in  that  commercial  house,  whose  partners  are  agreed 
about  no  one  of  the  great  principles  of  trade  ? 

To  these  statements  it  might  be  objected,  that  Chris- 
tians and  infidels  united  together  in  the  reformation  of 
the  Church  and  the  overthrow  of  Papacy.  They  did ; 


28 


SERMON  I. 


but  it  must  be  remarked,  that  they  walked  together,  so 
long  as  they  were  agreed  in  the  simple  object  of  rejecting 
the  political  assumptions  of  the  Roman  pontiff.  Their 
object  in  this  union  was,  to  burst  their  common  fetters  ; 
but  no  sooner  had  this  been  effected,  and  each  resumed 
his  own  individuality,  than  they  clashed  and  separated. 
While  agreed,  they  walked  together,  but  no  longer. 

The  text  is  part  of  a solemn  reproof  addressed  to  the 
Israelites.  They  thought,  that,  because  they  held  been 
taken  into  covenant  with  God,  and  had  been  careful  in 
observing  the  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  God 
walked  with  them,  approved  of,  and  blessed  them. 
But  the  prophet,  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  here  presents 
this  great  principal : — 1 You  must  agree  with  me,  and 
then  I will  walk  with  you ; — the  union  between  us  must 
be  a moral  union.’  He  makes  a direct  appeal  to  their 
judgments,  and  consciences,  in  this  language,  and  vir- 
tually demands  whether  they  are  willing  to  accord  with 
him  in  feeling,  and  to  co-operate  with  him.  If  not,  he 
could  not  approve  them.  “ How  can  two  walk  togeth- 
er, except  they  be  agreed  ?” 

To  us  this  is  a subject  of  the  highest  importance  on 
earth.  This  earthly  scene  is  to  pass  away,  the  world 
and  its  interests  are  to  perish ; but  the  soul  and  its 
moral  affinities, — the  soul  and  its  desires. — the  soul  and 
its  habits  formed  on  earth  must  abide  and  survive  the 
wreck  of  matter.  We  may  well  ask  ourselves, — £ With 
whom,  with  what  party,  are  my  moral  affinities  and 
alliances  ? — with  whom  am  I agreed  V If  we  are  not 
agreed  with  God,  we  cannot  walk  in  his  counsels,  nor 
beneath  his  smile.  I speak  to  you,  children  ! and  ask 
you  ; — i Are  you  agreed  with  God  V Perhaps  you  do 
not  understand  me.  I will  let  a little  girl,  of  whom  I 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


29 


have  heard,  explain  to  you  my  meaning.*  “ I speak  to 
you,  young  man  ! now,  in  the  spring-time  of  life,  at  a 
period  in  which  all  around  is  fascinating  and  deceiving, 
at  a period  in  which  you  are  about  to  form  associa- 
tions and  connexions  for  life,  and,  perhaps,  to  take 
your  moral  position  for  eternity  ; and  I urge  you,  first  of 
all,  to  agree  with  God,  that  God  may  agree  with  you. 

How  mysterious  is  the  indifference,  with  which  men 
regard  God’s  approbation,  or  disapprobation ! It  is 
manifest  that  such  indifference  cannot  be  the  result  of 
serious  reflection.  It  cannot  be,  that  the  man,  who  has 
closely  contemplated  his  position  in  the  moral  universe, 
his  transient  existence  on  earth,  and  his  fearful  interest 
in  eternity,  has  risen  from  such  contemplation,  deter- 
mined to  cast  aside  all  concern  for  the  favor  of  God,  to 
make  the  least  of  his  cares  the  care  of  his  welfare  be- 
yond the  hour  of  death.  No,  it  is  a mysterious,  irra- 
tional fascination  ; it  is  the  fearful  consequence  and 
proof  of  apostacy  from  God.  My  fellow-men  ! it  is 
not  reasonable  for  you,  nor  for  me,  to  regard  with  in- 
difference the  question, — £ How  does  God  esteem  me, 
and  what  is  my  actual  position  with  regard  to  him  ? Is 
there  moral  union  and  harmony,  on  which  an  eternal 
friendship  may  be  based?’  This  is  the  important  ques- 
tion, which  I would  assist  each  one  to  answer  in  his 
own  case.  It  is  true,  that  the  infinite  Being  conceals 

* She  was  greatly  distressed  to  find  herself  a sinner  against  God. 
Her  pious  mother  had  encouraged  and  promoted  her  convictions  of  sin. 
But,  one  morning,  she  came  running  into  the  parlor,  smiling  with  de- 
light. Her  good  mother  feared  that  she  had  become  a trifler  with  serious 
things,  and  exclaimed  : “ Why,  my  dear ! have  you  grieved  away  the 
Spirit  of  God  ?” — “ No,  my  dear  mamma ! I have  made  up  with  God.” 
She  understood  exactly  what  God  meant  when  he  says  : “ Be  ye  recon- 
ciled to  God.” 

3* 


30 


SERMON  1. 


from  us  the  brightness  of  his  presence,  and  neither  daz- 
zles the  eye  of  the  body,  nor  overwhelms  the  feelings 
of  the  mind,  by  presenting  himself  to  our  senses  in  all 
the  symbols  of  his  majesty  and  glory.  Yet  there  are 
manifestations  of  his  perfections  and  of  his  feelings,  so 
clear,  so  indubitable,  so  palpable,  that  we  may  readily 
determine  whether  ours  be  a state  of  enmity,  of  indif- 
ference, or  of  union  with  our  blessed  Creator  and  Sove- 
reign or  not. 

The  principle  by  which  this  investigation  may  be 
made,  is  simple  and  obvious.  You  may  know  as  readi- 
ly your  sympathy  with,  or  aversion  to,  the  feelings  of 
an  absent  person,  as  of  one  present,  provided  he  have 
made  expression  of  his  feelings  on  any  one  point.  And 
again ; you  may  as  readily  test  your  sympathies,  or 
aversions,  on  moral  subjects  as  on  any  other.  There 
is  no  difficulty  in  testing  your  musical  taste,  and  com- 
paring it  with  another  person’s,  by  ascertaining  your 
feelings  on  hearing  the  same  piece  of  music.  And,  if 
on  every  experiment  you  find,  that  what  pleases  one 
displeases  another,  you  trace  it  to  a diversity  of  taste. 
Two  persons  examine  that  masterpiece  of  painting — 
“ the  Last  supper,”  by  Leonardo.  The  one  admires,  the 
other  disapproves ; because  one  is  a man  of  unculti- 
vated taste  and  unpractised  eye,  and  finds  no  beauty  in 
its  faded  colors,  while  the  other  is  capable  of  appre- 
ciating its  highest  beauties.  The  one  is  looking  for 
dazzling  color,  and  soon  grows  fatigued  ; the  other 
stands  enchanted,  and  retires  with  reluctance.  Here  is 
evidently  no  affinity  of  taste.  So  it  is  with  landscape. 
One  gazes  with  delight  upon  the  gentle  slope,  the  ver- 
dant fields,  the  retired  vale,  the  winding  stream  ; 
every  object,  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  presenting  to 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


31 


his  eye  new  beauties,  and  furnishing  fresh  delight  to 
the  mind  ; whilst  another  perceives  in  all  this  nothing 
to  attract  or  charm.  Here  is  evidently  a wide  differ- 
ence in  taste.  And  again ; concerning  those  whom 
we  see  not,  but  whose  sentiments  live  in  their  works  ; 
we  can  readily  determine  whether  they  and  we  are 
agreed,  and  whether  we  could,  or  could  not  walk  to- 
gether. Some  of  the  hideous  images  of  Egyptian  idol- 
atry are  now  in  our  museums.  These  were  once  the 
admiration  of  thousands  as  master-works  of  art.  We 
look  at  them  with  disgust.  Here  is  a want  of  intel- 
lectual agreement.  But  we  have  also  some  of  the 
matchless  specimens  of  Grecian  taste.  We  admire 
these,  and  feel,  as  we  contemplate  them,  that  we  should 
have  found  the  highest  intellectual  gratification  in  the 
society  of  the  men  who  made,  and  of  the  people  who 
admired  those  figures.  But  they  are  more  than  speci- 
mens of  art ; they  were  the  objects  of  a blind  religious 
veneration.  As  we  consider  them  in  this  light,  our  ad- 
miration gives  place  to  disgust  and  contempt ; and  we 
feel  an  utter  antipathy  to  the  character  and  sentiments 
of  a people,  whose  intellectual  elevation  is  but  a light, 
which  throws  in  deeper  shade  their  moral  degradation. 
It  is,  then,  by  contemplating  some  common  object,  that 
we  test  our  harmony,  or  want  of  harmony,  with  others 
on  any,  subject.  If  you,  my  hearers  ! have  taken  up 
the  subject  of  religion  with  an  earnestness  inr  any  mea- 
sure corresponding  with  its  magnitude,  then  you  have 
discovered  the  truth  of  what  I am  about  to  state.  If 
any  of  you  have  not,  I shall  entreat  a patient  attention 
to  my  statement  and  proofs. 

My  statement  is — that 

Man , as  unconverted , has  no  moral  union  with  God . 


32 


SERMON  I. 


He  sympathizes  not  with  God  ; walks  not,  co-operates 
not  with  him.  Between  God  and  these,  his  creatures, 
there  is  no  common  taste,  there  are  no  common  princi- 
ples, no  common  ends,  nor  plans. 

Let  us  begin  our  proof  of  this,  by  observing  God  and 
man,  in  the  exercise  of  love  in  its  two  branches,  com- 
placency, and  benevolence.  God  loves  all  excellence. 
He  has  said  in  his  word,  “ To  this  man  will  I look, 
even  to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a contrite  spirit.77  Hu- 
mility, faith,  penitence,  the  spirit  of  prayer, — these  are 
the  features  of  character  in  God’s  sight,  of  greatest 
price.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  world.  Take,  then, 
the  two  objects  ; on  the  one  side,  a man  of  true  piety, 
with  no  other  recommendation ; and  on  the  other,  a 
man  with  every  thing  admirable,  but  destitute  of  piety. 
The  one  is  Lazarus  at  the  rich  man’s  gate.  Look  at 
him  with  all  the  offensiveness  of  his  exterior  : destitute 
of  wealth,  of  talents,  of  friends,  a cripple,  a beggar  ; and 
yet  he  is  a man  of  piety.  His  views  of  sin  are  as  God’s 
views.  His  sympathies  are  with  God’s  ; the  glory  of 
God  is  the  great  object  of  his  love  ; he  rejoices  in  his 
low  estate,  because  God  has  chosen  it  for  him  ; while 
others  are  called  to  glorify  God  by  action,  he  rejoices, 
that  he  can  do  it  by  suffering  in  obscurity  and  con- 
tempt. Such  a man  is  dear  to  God.  He  may  live  in 
a dungeon,  or  a cave,  where  you  would  not  deign  to 
visit  him  ; yet  that  man  is  one  of  God’s  jewels,  watched 
over  by  angels,  who  are  eager  for  the  commission,  to 
break  the  rude  shell  that  encases  it,  and  bear  it  away 
to  shine  in  the  Savior’s  crown.  Come,  look  at  this 
object,  and  ask  yourself, — ‘ Is  my  heart  agreed  with 
God’s  in  this  case  ? Do  I love  piety  wherever  I see  it? 
Do  I love  it  for  its  own  sake  ? God  does  ; and  if  I do 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


33 


not,  then  our  moral  tastes  do  not  harmonize, — we 
are  not  agreed.  He  would  pass  by  thrones  and  senates 
to  comfort  that  broken  heart,  and  wipe  away  one  tear 
from  that  eye ; Gabriel  would  fly  from  the  nether 
spheres  to  lift  the  cup  to  his  thirsting  lips  ; but  I would 
pass  by  on  the  other  side,  and  hasten  to  more  conge- 
nial society.  Then  I am  out  of  harmony  with  heaven. 7 
Yes,  here  is  a common  object  of  moral  contemplation, 
which  can  as  well  determine  the  state  of  the  heart,  as 
a picture,  or  landscape,  or  piece  of  music,  can  deter- 
mine the  tastes  of  two  men.  And  what  of  your  man  of 
taste,  polish,  science,  station,  affluence,  influence,  who 
lives  not  for  God,  loves  not,  fears  not,  obeys  not,  praises 
not  God  ? He  favors  you  with  his  society  and  his 
friendship.  You  not  only  admire,  you  delight  in  him. 
And,  even  if  he  utters  a few  irreverential  expressions 
concerning  religion,  and  carelessly  employs  the  sacred 
name  of  Jehovah,  that  does  not  alienate  your  heart  ; 
him  you  admire,  in  his  society  is  your  chief  delight. 
God  does  not  admire  him,  but  “is  angry  with  the 
wicked  every  day.77 

The  selection  of  our  companions,  and  the  ground  of 
that  selection,  if  we  would  examine  it  closely,  would 
perfectly  expose  to  us  our  character  as  it  is  in  the  eyes 
of  God.  If  we  choose  the  pious,  and  say  with  Israel’s 
sweet  singer,  “ in  them  is  all  my  delight  ;77  and  if  we 
choose  them  on  account  of  their  religion,  so  far  we 
have  evidence  of  our  reconciliation  to  God.  Says  John, 
“ we  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life, 
because  we  love  the  brethren”  We  admit  that  piety 
is  now,  in  most  cases,  associated  with  much,  that  is  not 
admirable  in  itself ; and  yet  there  is  true  piety  on  earth, 


34 


SERMON  I. 


and  enough  to  test  the  nature  and  tendency  of  our  af- 
fections. 

In  the  exercise,  then,  of  their  complacency,  men  while 
unconverted,  select  different  objects  from  God ; in  the 
exercise  of  their  benevolence  they  choose  not  as  God 
chooses.  God  loves  all  his  creatures,  because  they  are 
capable  of  happiness,  and  he  loves  them,  as  capable  of 
happiness.  But  men,  generally,  make  a very  narrow 
circle  for  the  play  of  their  benevolent  affections.  So 
far  as  it  is  restricted  by  a want  of  knowledge  of  other 
beings,  or  by  an  inability  to  conceive  of  and  sympathize 
with  the  miseries  of  those  whom  we  have  never  seen, 
it  is  a mark  of  our  finite  power,  and  not  of  our  want 
of  holiness.  But  so  far  as  it  arises  from  selfish  indif- 
ference to  the  welfare  of  others,  so  far  we  feel  not , as 
God  feels.  Is  there,  moreover,  a man,  in  the  circle  of 
your  acquaintance,  who  has  no  share  in  your  sympa- 
thies ? God  loves  that  man,  not  because  he  may  be 
good,  or  grateful,  or  obedient,  but  because  he  is  a man 
endowed  with  all  the  moral  and  immortal  sensibilities 
and  capacities  of  human  nature. 

It  is  often  said,  that  no  man  can  love  his  enemies. 
Then  no  man  can  dwell  with  God,  no  man  can  wear 
God’s  moral  intake ; for  that  is  one  of  its  striking  fea- 
tures.  Suppose  a man  to  have  interfered  with  you  in 
your  business,  to  have  stood  in  the  way  of  your  worldly 
prosperity,  or  to  have  slandered  you  to  others  ; do  you 
not  love  him,  notwithstanding  all  this  ? God  loves  him, 
although  he  may  be  still  his  enemy  ; the  absence  of  your 
love  to  him,  proves  that  you  are  not  agreed  with  God. 

But  we  can  press  this  matter  still  further.  God  not 
only  loves  his  creatures, — all  his  creatures,  even  his 
enemies, — but  with  an  intensity  astonishing  to  the  very 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


35 


angels  of  heaven.  And  his  great  desire  is  for  their 
conversion  and  eternal  salvation.  Here  are,  then,  two 
points  of  comparison  ; those  interests  of  man  for  which 
he  has  the  highest  regard ; and  the  degree  of  his  re- 
gard. To  testify  the  extent  and  strength  of  his  com- 
passion for  sinners,  God  gave  his  own  Son ; for,  it  is 
said,  “ God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,”  &c.  Not  only  does  he  love  his  ene- 
mies, but  he  sacrifices  his  Son  to  do  them  good.  Who, 
then,  has  a moral  union  and  affinity  with  him,  whose 
great  name  is  Love  ? And  for  what  is  this  great  sacri- 
fice ? for  what  the  mission  of  the  Spirit  ? for  what  the 
word  of  Revelation  ? It  is  all  to  secure  the  conversion 
and  everlasting  salvation  of  men.  Upon  this  great 
work  the  whole  heart  of  the  blessed  God  is  set.  But 
say,  if,  to  some  of  you,  this  work  does  not  often  appear 
absolutely  contemptible  ? Say,  if,  when  amidst  the  gay 
lovers  of  pleasure  and  votaries  of  fashion,  you  would 
not  have  felt  a revolting  of  spirit,  a cordial  contempt 
for  one,  who  should  have  commenced  talking  to  you 
of  the  great  work  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  of  the 
importance  of  efforts  to  turn  the  attention  of  this  people 
to  the  interests  of  their  souls,  before  it  be  for  ever  too 
late  ? But  if  you  have  not  felt  contempt,  have  you  not 
a complete  indifference?  The  heart  of  everyone  is 
on  some  object,  which  seems  to  him  great ; it  may  be 
pleasure,  profit,  honor,  ease,  in  some  of  their  forms. 
But  if  your  supreme  desire  be  not  that  of  extending  the 
cause  of  Christ,  you  are  not  agreed  with  God  ; for 
upon  this  one  great  and  glorious  plan  his  heart  is  su- 
premely fixed.  For  that,  the  Son  of  God  came  to 
sufferings,  shame,  and  death.  Your  indifference  to  this 
vast  object,  your  absorption  in  the  interests  of  time, 


36 


SERMON  I. 


your  unwillingness  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  salvation 
of  your  own  or  others’  souls,  your  little,  narrow,  selfish 
schemes,  prove  that  you  are  not  agreed  with  God. 

We  may  test  the  condition  of  our  affections  by  an- 
other object — the  law  of  God.  To  him  it  is  as  dear  as 
the  happiness  of  his  creatures  and  the  honor  of  his  own 
name.  If  you  find  in  it  one  command  too  holy,  one 
requirement  too  exact,  or  one  precept  superfluous,  then 
you  esteem  it  not  as  God  does.  I will  not  now  regard 
all  that  is  implied  in  an  aversion  to  any  one  precept  of 
the  divine  law.  We  are  here  simply  concerned  to  see 
that  what  God  approves,  man  disapproves.  His  wisdom, 
equity,  and  goodness  framed  that  law  in  all  its  strict- 
ness, purity,  and  extent.  Not  a command  nor  a pro- 
hibition of  it  expresses  else  than  his  heart  approves. 
Even  the  tremendous  denunciations  of  it,  too,  are 
approved  by  God.  If  then  its  requirements  please  not, 
if  its  threatenings  seem  too  severe  to  any  one ; with 
such  a one  God  is  not  agreed. 

Another  object  tests  the  heart;  the  Son  of  God 
manifested  in  human  nature.  In  all  the  predictions 
of  the  patriarchs  and  prophets ; in  all  the  ancient  types 
of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  and  the  shadowy  representations 
of  the  former  economy ; in  the  mission  of  John  the 
forerunner,  we  can  see  that  Christ,  in  all  ages,  has 
been,  as  he  was  announced  at  his  baptism,  the  only 
begotten  and  well  beloved  Son  of  God.  This  was  the 
testimony  borne  to  him  on  the  banks  of  Jordan  by  his 
heavenly  Father — “ This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom 
I am  well  pleased  !” — in  whom  I am  ivell  pleased . I 
now  turn  your  thoughts  to  him.  I would  present  him 
in  his  humble  cradle,  in  his  holy  life,  in  his  severe 
reproofs  of  sin  and  unbelief,  in  the  moment  when  he 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


37 


chilled  the  zeal  of  that  self-complacent  young  ruler, 
who  thought  himself  almost  ready  for  heaven.  I pre- 
sent him  hung  up  on  the  ignominious  Roman  gibbet, 
expiring  beneath  the  contempt  of  earth  and  frown  of 
heaven.  I present  him  coming  in  the  clouds  to  judge 
the  world,  and  to  separate  men  into  two  great  classes, 
by  a principle,  which  shall  pour  contempt  on  the  dis- 
tinctions that  have  gratified  the  pride  of  the  human 
heart ; I ask  you  in  all  this — £ What  think  you  of 
Christ  V God  says — “ I am  well  pleased.”  Does 
your  heart  respond — ‘He  is  to  me  all  in  all?’  God 
says  that  he  has  “ raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  set 
him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far 
above  all  principality  and  power,  and  might  and  do- 
minion, and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come;  and 
hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet,” — “ and  given  him 
a name,  which  is  above  every  name  ; that  at  the  name 
of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  and  that  every  tongue 
should  confess.”  Does  your  heart  thus  exalt  him  ? If 
we  have  a common  heart,  or  moral  sentiment,  with  Je- 
hovah, then  we  must  love  Christ  as  he  does.  When- 
ever the  gospel  is  faithfully  preached,  Jesus  Christ  is 
manifestly  set  forth  crucified  for  man’s  redemption. 
And  under  these  manifestations,  how  many  are  totally 
indifferent ! Some  may  have  been  aroused  to  a sense 
of  their  entire  dependence  on  Christ,  of  their  immediate 
and  pressing  need  of  an  interest  in  his  mediation. 
But  how  transient  was  the  impression  ! Yes,  in  that 
solemn  hour  God  presented  to  you  the  great  medium 
of  reconciliation  to  himself,  showed  you  where  he 
could  meet  you  without  compromising  his  justice  or 
his  truth,  held  the  promise  of  pardon  down  from  his 

4 


38 


SE  RMON  I. 


throne,  showed  you  the  covenant  of  peace,  signed  and 
sealed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  slain  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world  ; — in  that  solemn  hour  God  was  near 
in  a sense  more  real,  more  important,  infinitely  more 
important  and  delightful  than  human  thought  can 
conceive.  Yes,  there,  my  hearer  ! — and  you  remem- 
ber perhaps  the  hour — there  your  soul  weighed  earth 
and  heaven  in  the  balance  of  its  affections ; there  in 
strong  debate  you  canvassed  the  claims  of  sin  and  holi- 
ness ; there  you  were  almost  persuaded  to  be  a Chris- 
tian ; and  yet — awful  thought ! — you  there  decided 
that  your  heart  could  not  choose  Christ  and  renounce 
its  idols. 

Here  are  then  objects  enough  presented  for  the  appli- 
cation of  our  principle  and  of  our  test.  One  is  Piety  ; 
considered  by  God  as  the  only  lovely  object  on  earth ; 
piety,  considered  by  the  world  actually,  practically, 
daily  and  hourly,  when  exhibited  in  life,  as  either  con- 
temptible, or  as  not  equal  in  interest  to  intellect,  to 
wealth,  to  rank,  or  other  adventitious  appendages  to 
man.  God  loves,  God  walks  with  the  men  of  humili- 
ty, of  faith,  of  prayer,  of  zeal  for  his  honor  and  kingdom. 
God  loves  them  for  their  piety,  for  that  which  distin- 
guishes them  from  the  world.  Men  generally  either 
disregard  them,  or  esteem  them  on  account  of  other 
qualities  and  circumstances.  We  have  selected  again 
— the  Law  of  God . When  God  beholds  that,  as  an 
expression  of  his  will,  as  adapted  to  make  the  universe 
of  intelligent  beings  one  vast,  happy  community ; when 
he  beholds  its  perfect  symmetry,  its  purity,  its  clear  re- 
presentation of  his  rights  and  of  his  creatures’  duties, 
he  must  love  it.  And  there  are  a few  men  who  can  say 
with  intelligent  sincerity — 44  the  law  is  holy,  and  the 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


39 


commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good  ;”  “ how  I love 
thy  law,  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day.”  But  alas  ! 
there  are  only  a few  men  of  that  spirit  in  the  human 
family. 

The  majority  of  men  treat  the  whole  law  of  God 
with  such  indifference,  that  they  think  it  not  worth 
their  while  to  search  into  its  precepts,  either  to  know 
what  they  are,  or  whether  they  comply  with  them. 
We  have  contemplated  also  the  souls  of  men  in  their 
inappreciable  worth,  to  see,  on  the  one  hand,  how  earn- 
estly God  loves  them,  at  how  high  a price  he  under- 
takes their  salvation  ; and  on  the  other  hand,  that  men 
generally  care  little  for  the  mass  of  mankind,  love  not 
their  enemies,  and  care  nothing  for  the  undying  inter- 
ests of  the  soul.  Conversion,  pardon,  sanctification, 
resurrection,  justification  at  the  bar  of  God; — these  are 
matters  of  moonshine  with  the  busy,  the  gay,  the  learn- 
ed, the  wise,  the  mighty  world.  The  last  of  its  con- 
cerns is  for  the  promotion  of  vital,  soul-transforming, 
soul-saving  religion ; the  smallest  of  its  sacrifices  are 
for  it ; the  least  degree  of  its  sympathies  is  with  him, 
who  weeps  over  man’s  apostacy,  who  prays  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  God’s  recovering  grace,  and  for  the  mighty 
energies  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  last  object  we  presented  was — the  Bright,  the 
Morning  Star — the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  who  has 
arisen  on  the  world  with  healing  in  his  wings, — the 
meek,  the  spotless  Lamb  of  God,  who  bore  the  sins  of 
erring  man  upon  his  guiltless  soul.  We  have  heard 
the  voice  of  the  Highest  saying — “ This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I am  well  pleased;”  and,  “What  think 
ye  of  Christ?”  We  have  heard  the  world  saying, — 
6 We  may  want  to  fly  to  him  in  a dying  hour;  but,  un- 


40 


SERMON  I . 


til  forced  to  do  it,  we  wish  not  to  take  his  yoke  upon 
us ; we  have  seen  neither  form  nor  comeliness  in  him, 
that  we  should  desire  him.’ 

And,  my  fellow-mortal ! is  it  you,  whose  heart,  whose 
conduct,  with  so  stern  an  emphasis,  have  thus  replied? 
Then  I must  carry  the  subject  one  step  further,  and 
ask  you,  How  “can  two  walk  together,  except  they  be 
agreed  V ? If  it  is  determined  in  your  own  mind  that 
you  are  not  agreed  with  God,  how  then  can  he  confer 
upon  you  any  of  the  blessings  of  his  children  ? He 
may  command  his  sun  to  shine  and  his  rain  to  descend 
upon  you ; for  that  he  does  to  the  evil  and  unthankful. 
But  does  that  satisfy  you?  Can  you  live  with  the  crea- 
ture deprived  of  the  Creator?  If  God  but  gives  you 
the  bounties  of  his  providence,  are  you  satisfied  to  live 
without  him,  without  his  love,  without  the  peculiar 
blessings  which  he  confers  on  his  children.  But  he 
cannot  confer  these  blessings  on  those,  who  have  nei- 
ther obeyed  his  law,  nor  become  reconciled  to  him 
through  the  gospel.  It  would  bring  reproach  upon  his 
character  as  moral  Governor  ; for  that  character  he 
must  sustain  as  well  as  that  of  Father.  You  make  it 
impossible  to  be  blessed.  How  can  God  delight  in  you  ? 
What  shall  he  delight  in  ? Your  external  advantages? 
They  have  been  possessed  by  some  of  the  darkest  and 
vilest  beings,  that  ever  bore  the  name  of  man.  Shall 
he  delight  in  your  intellect,  your  science,  your  accom- 
plishments ? Have  you  more  than  Satan  had  on  the 
morning  of  his  rebellion?  But  they  could  not  bribe 
nor  dazzle  the  perfect  eye  of  Eternal  Purity  and  Jus- 
tice. God  delights  in  the  men,  who,  where  they  have 
disobeyed  his  law,  honor  it  by  all  the  amends  in  their 
power ; — repentance  for  their  sin,  and  the  acceptance 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


41 


of  a gratuitous  pardon  through  Jesus  Christ.  God  de- 
lights in  them,  whose  hearts  harmonize  in  sympathy 
with  his,  concerning  the  great  scheme  of  recovering 
this  lost  race  to  allegiance,  and  holiness,  and  heaven. 
God  delights  in  those,  whose  delight  is  in  his  Son. 
Hear  how  the  apostle  Paul,  whom  God  loved,  expresses 
himself  concerning  the  law  of  God : — I delight  in  the 
law  of  God  after  the  inward  man,  although  I find  a 
constant  rebellion  in  part  of  my  nature  against  it.  He 
perpetually  took  the  side  of  the  law  against  himself. 
Hear  the  adorations  of  the  heavenly  host  in  whom  God 
delights : 

“ Worthy  the  Lamb  that  died,  they  cry, 

To  be  exalted  thus.” 

Now  if  your  heart  has,  in  all  these  points,  no  sym- 
pathy with  God,  how  can  he  delight  in  you?  How  can 
he  take  you  to  heaven?  The  righteous  are  taken  there 
in  order  to  make  their  communion  with  God  more  in- 
timate, perfect,  and  beatific.  But  communion  of  soul, 
to  be  intimate  and  delightful,  must  be  intelligent  and 
cordial  on  those  points,  which  both  parties  deem  of  the 
highest  moment.  But  if  you  have  no  such  fellowship 
with  God  here,  what  will  you  do  in  heaven?  If  you 
have  found  no  delight  in  the  imperfect  communion 
which  prayer  affords,  what  will  you  do  in  heaven  ? It 
seems  to  me,  my  fellow  men  ! you  pronounce  the  ver- 
dict on  your  own  souls.  Without  a change  of  heart, 
there  is  no  advantage  in  your  going  to  heaven.  If  you 
go  there,  it  will  not  be  to  have  communion  with  God 
and  with  his  Christ.  A heaven  without  God, — a hea- 
ven without  the  Savior  ! God  will  gather  around  him- 
self the  faithful  spirits,  who  have  contended  for  his 
honor  and  interests  in  the  various  parts  of  his  king- 

4* 


42 


SERMON  I. 


dom.  But  what  will  you  do  among  them  ? Will  you 
bring  the  history  of  your  anxiety  for  worldly  good, 
your  toils  and  cares  for  earthly  interests,  to  entertain 
the  sons  of  light,  the  valiant  champions  of  truth  and 
holiness  ? God  will  gather  them  that  have  been  faith- 
ful to  his  cause,  that  they  may  co-operate  with  him  in 
still  greater  plans.  But  what  will  you  do  there,  who 
have  never  sympathized  with  God’s  cause  on  earth  ? 
How  “ can  two  walk  together,  except  they  be  agreed?” 
Then  there  is  no  fellowship  with  God,  no  co-operation 
with  him,  no  rapturous  enjoyment  of  his  presence,  his 
character,  his  plans,  his  service. 

Heaven  is  constantly  thought  of,  under  the  vague 
impression  of  a happy  spot.  But  think  of  a circle  of 
friends,  pure,  refined,  intelligent,  enjoying  exquisite  de- 
light in  each  other’s  society.  Imagine  one  of  utterly 
uncongenial  taste  and  habits,  longing  to  be  admitted  to 
that  circle,  under  the  impression  that  merely  being 
there  would  make  him  happy.  You  know  he  is  in 
error;  but  not  in  as  great  an  error  as  they  are  in,  who 
think  of  heaven  as  a happy  place,  and  are  anxious  to  get 
there,  but  have  no  anxiety  for  immediate  and  perfect 
preparation  for  it.  No  ; if  you  are  not  agreed  with 
God,  he  will  not  bring  you  to  “ his  presence,”  where  is 
“ fulness  of  joy,”  nor  to  “ his  right  hand,”  where  are 
“ pleasures  for  evermore.”  If  not  agreed  with  God, 
you  cannot  dwell  for  ever  with  those  who  are.  No  ; 
if  you  are  not  now  walking  with  God,  we  are  prepar- 
ing for  an  endless  separation.  You  may  occupy  the 
same  place  in  the  house  of  God  with  his  children  ; 
you  may  perform  the  same  external  duties  ; no  human 
eye  may  be  able  to  discover  a difference  between  you 
and  them  ; and  yet,  being  unreconciled  to  God,  as  time 


AGREEMENT  WITH  GOD. 


43 


rolls  onward,  and  as  eternity  approaches,  you  are  di- 
verging further  and  further  from  them.  The  thought 
is  solemn.  Life  is  solemn,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  seed- 
time of  eternity;  its  threshold,  its  type,  its  model.  To- 
day we  may  take  you  by  the  hand ; to-day  we  may 
lead  you  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  ; to-day  we  may  weep 
over  you,  and  express  to  you  our  strong  anxieties ; to- 
morrow you  may  die,  and  we  may  never , never , never 
again  meet.  Pilgrim  to  eternity  ! if  your  heart  is  not 
right  with  God,  you  are  going  to  an  eternal  distance 
from  him  and  his  saints.  And  are  you  willing  to  be 
eternally  separated  from  God  and  the  good  ? Suppose 
you  were  called  to-day  to  bid  an  everlasting  farewell  to 
your  pious  relatives  and  friends,  to  Christ  and  his 
Church ; would  it  be  without  a sigh  ? And  yet  it  may 
be  so. 

I know  this  is  a theme  on  which  few  occupy  their 
thoughts.  But  it  remains  in  all  its  truth  and  awful  im- 
portance, that,  under  the  dispensation  of  mercy  admin- 
istered by  the  Son  of  God,  men  are  taking  their  posi- 
tions for  eternity.  There  are  two  contending  interests 
in  the  universe.  Hell  and  its  legions  are  ranged  on  the 
one  side — God  and  his  angels  on  the  other.  By  phy- 
sical force,  the  controversy  might  soon  be  ended.  But 
this  is  the  department  where  God’s  greatest  glory  is  seen 
in  the  enlistment  of  moral  force  alone.  Oh  what  a 
theatre  of  sublime  interest  is  earth,  where  every  thing 
is  yet  undecided,  but  rapidly  settling  for  eternity  ! The 
inhabitants  of  heaven  are  immutably  ranged  under  the 
banner  of  the  Prince  of  light.  Fallen  angels  and  dam- 
ned spirits  look  for  no  reprieve,  no  change.  Dark  hate 
and  fell  despair  are  their  chains.  But  man’s  fate  is 
yet  undecided.  His  destiny  is  pending,  and  God  is 


44 


SERMON  X. 


now  persuading ; for  moral  power  consists  in  persua- 
sion. And  generally,  it  is  a “ still  small  voice,”  easily 
stifled,  easily  unheeded.  Hark ! it  sounds  in  thy  breast, 
it  comes  from  thy  Father’s  throne,  from  thy  bleeding 
friend,  from  the  Spirit  of  life  : — ‘ Wilt  thou  be  agreed 
with  God  V 


SERMON  II. 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god. 


4 The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God” — 
Rom.  viii.  7. 

If  we  divest  this  sentiment  of  its  technical  form,  and 
express  it  in  the  language  of  common  conversation,  its 
dreadful  import  must  strike  the  most  inattentive  hearer. 
The  Bible  is  technical,  because  it  is  the  Book  of  heav- 
enly science,  and,  like  every  other  book  of  science,  must 
employ  many  phrases  in  a sense  peculiar  to  itself. 
This  has  frequently  been  a theme  even  of  ridicule  to 
the  enemies  of  its  doctrines.  But  a mere  verbal  con- 
troversy is  always  of  minor  importance.  We  discover 
with  painful  interest,  the  reality  and  extent  of  an  oppo- 
sition, more  serious,  because  it  is  to  the  truth  of  our  text. 
All  over  the  world,  and  in  every  period  of  human  his- 
tory, men  have  hated,  not  the  fact  here  stated,  but  the 
declaration  of  that  fact.  Men  are  willing,  that  it  shall 
be  true  that  they  hate  God,  but  they  are  not  willing  to 
read  it,  nor  to  hear  it.  There  is  an  almost  universal 
reluctance,  to  put  among  the  axioms,  or  the  established 
points  of  religious  belief,  the  truth,  that  the  human 
mind  is  opposed  to  its  Creator  and  Savior.  At  present 
we  shall  endeavor  to  convince  those,  who  admit  the 
Bible  to  be  an  infallible  teacher.  We  shall  allow  there- 


46 


SERMON  II. 


fore,  in  these  discussions,  no  other  place  for  reasoning, 
than  to  ascertain,  whether,  or  not  we  understand  the 
written  Word.  If  God  says  it,  we  must  believe  it. 

Has  God  then  said,  that  the  human  heart  is  opposed 
to  Him  ? So  we  understand  the  text.  It  is  clear  that 
the  human  heart,  in  some  state,  is  here  said  to  be,  “ at 
enmity  against  God.  ” The  only  remaining  question, 
then,  is.  whether  or  not  that  state  is  the  universal,  nat- 
ural condition  of  man.  It  is,  in  other  words,  whether 
or  not  every  unconverted  man  hates  God.  We  under- 
stand the  text  to  assert  this,  because  the  whole  course 
of  the  argument  in  the  context  consists,  in  contrasting 
the  two  different  states  of  human  nature,  as  renewed 
and  unrenewed.  But  the  argument  from  the  examina- 
tion of  the  record,  although  more  conclusive  and  satis- 
factory to  a student  of  the  Bible  than  any  other,  is 
neither  so  interesting  nor  so  striking  to  those  who  are 
not  inclined  to  pursue  that  study.  We  therefore  take 
up  another  line  of  argument,  and  lead  you  to  positions 
where  this  dreadful  truth  so  glares  upon  the  eye,  that 
the  understanding  must  embrace  it,  despite  the  revolt- 
ings  and  struggles  of  self-respect  and  of  carnal  desire. 
We  readily  make,  however,  this  concession  to  human 
nature ; — we  admit  that  men  generally  appear  to  be 
sincere,  in  denying  that  they  hate  God. 

We  meet,  then,  on  the  threshold,  the  apparent  oppo- 
sition to  our  doctrine,  of  all  human  consciousness  and 
experience.  We  maintain  an  apparently  extravagant 
truth,  in  the  face,  not  only  of  what  men  believe,  but 
even  of  what  they  feel.  We  appear  in  the  bold  posi- 
tion, of  telling  men  that,  concerning  themselves, 
which  they  know  to  be  false.  Ask  any  number  of  men 
this  question — £ Do  you  hate  God  V The  reply,  in 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  47 

almost  every  case,  will  be  made  with  perfect  sincerity — 
1 No,  I love  Him.’  And  the  answer  will  often  be  forti- 
fied with  this  argument — ‘ Why  should  I hate  the 
Being  that  gives  me  all  my  blessings  ?’  It  is  this 
supposed  consciousness,  that  fortifies  men,  so  securely, 
against  the  testimony  of  God.  Now  it  is  important  to 
understand  precisely,  on  the  one  hand  what  it  is  of 
which  men  are  conscious,  and  on  the  other  what  the 
text  asserts.  Few  men  see  in  their  hearts  any  thing, 
like  hatred  of  the  character  of  God  ; they  see  no  anger, 
no  rankling,  no  opposition  against  Him,  in  positive  ex- 
ercise. Nor  does  the  text  assert,  that  this  hatred  is,  in 
all,  a present,  positive,  outbreaking  emotion,  or  disposi- 
tion. It  simply  declares,  that  the  attachment  to  forbid- 
den objects  and  pursuits,  which  characterizes  all  hearts 
naturally,  involves  in  itself  enmity  against  God.  Our 
text  does  not  assert,  that  sinful  dispositions  have  yet 
ripened  to  their  full  malignity,  nor  that  man  has  yet 
seen  to  what  lengths  they  will  carry  him.  It  simply, 
and  only  declares,  that  man  has  committed  himself  to 
the  ranks  and  work  of  rebellion ; that  he  is,  in  reality, 
an  enemy  of  his  God,  although  that  enmity  may  yet 
be  undeveloped  in  its  more  terrible  forms.  It  asserts, 
that  man  has  begun  a career,  which  will,  if  unchecked, 
plant  him  beneath  the  banner  of  rebel  angels — an  eter- 
nal, uncompromising  enemy  of  heaven’s  glorious  King. 
To  the  proof  of  this  awful  truth  we  advance. 

We  see  enough,  and  we  intend  to  show  enough,  to 
convince  the  world  that  men  need  but  a change  of  cir- 
cumstances, to  develope  forms  and  degrees  of  wicked- 
ness, which  would  now  be  as  incredible  to  them,  as  was 
Hazael’s  predicted  depravity  to  him.  See  you  that 
statesman,  amiable,  courteous,  generous?  He  lives  in 


48 


SE  RMON  I I. 


perfect  amity  with  all  his  neighborhood.  Ask  him,  if 
he  is  conscious  of  enmity  towards  a human  being.  His 
sincere  response  is, — ‘Not  towards  one  ; — no,  not  even 
to  that  rival  in  the  career  of  ambition  (who,  it  must 
be  observed,  has  never  yet  crossed  his  path.)  Return 
to  the  place  of  his  residence  after  many  years,  and  hear 
the  village  stories  of  anger,  reviling,  and  finally  of  the 
fatal  duel  between  these  former  friends ; and  see 
the  lasting  hatred  which  yet  burns  even  in  their  off- 
spring. What  has  kindled  this  strange  fire  in  that 
once  peaceful  bosom?  Where  is  now  the  firm  con- 
sciousness, that  once  induced  the  frank  and  earnest 
disavowel  of  enmity  ? Alas  ! a change  of  situation, 
and  circumstances,  changed,  not  the  man,  but  the  exer- 
cise of  his  selfishness  ; and  it  was  by  this  change, 
brought  out  in  forms  hitherto  unknown  to  himself,  and 
to  others.  Fellow  man  ! thou  art  ignorant  of  thyself ; 
thy  heart  is  an  enigma  to  thee ; God  knows  it,  and  God 
has  given  His  testimony  concerning  it.  Thou  art  to 
live  through  many, — many  changes.  Thou  mayest 
be  confident  in  thyself ; but  He,  who  knows  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  has  declared  dreadful  things  con- 
cerning thee.  And  time  and  eternity,  with  their  in- 
conceivable changes,  may  yet  make  thee  what  if  now 
told  thee,  would  force  the  exclamation — “What ! is  thy 
servant  a dog,  that  he  should  do  this  thing  ?” 

Man  is  the  enemy  of  God  in  his  selfishness. ' He  be- 
lieves it  not,  because  he  knows  not  who,  or  what  Goa 
is  ; or,  because  he  will  not  compare  himself  with  what 
he  does  know  of  God,  to  see  how  he  regards  Him. 
And  the  more  fully  God  unveils  His  character,  His 
government.  His  plans,  the  more  decided  and  the  more 
dreadful  will  be  the  enmity,  felt  and  exercised.  Let  us 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  49 

look  a little  further  into  this  very  consciousness  of  man, 
that  seems  to  contradict  the  words  of  God,  and  behold 
therein  the  strong  confirmation  of  our  doctrine. 

I.  Man  hates  the  character  of  God  as  a Lawgiver. 
]f  there  is  any  prerogative  of  His  nature,  for  which  Je- 
hovah will  contend  with  the  power  of  His  throne,  it  is 
that  of  making  laws  for  His  creatures.  And  if  there 
be,  on  the  other  hand,  any  strength  in  man’s  attach- 
ments, any  firmness  in  his  purposes,  any  ardor  in  his 
pursuits,  any  determined  opposition  to  that,  which  in- 
terferes with  the  independence  of  his  will,  or  the  ac- 
complishment of  his  cherished  plans,  then  is  uncon 
verted,  selfish  man  an  enemy  of  God  the  Legislator. 
It  is  true,  that  this  rebellion  against  the  Divine  govern- 
ment, this  opposition  to  the  Supreme  will,  does  not 
manifest  itself  in  the  same  forms,  as  rebellion  against  the 
various  kinds  of  moral  government  in  human  society  ; 
and  this  is  one  great  source  of  deception.  The  feelings, 
which,  in  the  one  case,  are  hidden,  in  the  other  are 
strong  and  prominent ; not  that  the  hatred  and  opposi- 
tion are  less  real  to  the  Divine  government,  but  that 
the  human  government  presents  itself  more  obtrusively 
to  its  subjects.  There  are,  however,  occurrences  in 
every  individual’s  life,  which,  if  properly  observed, 
would  echo  back  a fearful  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the 
Bible.  It  is  in  incidents  considered  trifling,  that  man 
shows  his  character ; and  he,  who  has  accustomed  him- 
self to  observe  the  incidents  of  human  life  as  reflectors 
of  the  human  heart;  can  read,  in  the  passing  events  of 
every  hour,  the  indexes  of  all  that  constitutes  that  heart. 
Reflect  on  an  occcurrence  like  the  following. 

There  were,  in  the  metropolis  of  one  of  the  United 
States,  two  young  men  full  of  glowing  health  and  elas- 

5 


50 


SERMON  II. 


tic  spirits.  They  selected,  for  a drive,  the  very  hour  ot 
a beautiful  Sabbath  morning,  in  which  the  devout  had 
just  commenced  the  worship  of  their  God.  They  were 
urging  a spirited  steed  down  one  of  the  leading  streets, 
and  securing  the  general  attention  ; but  in  the  very 
height,  hilarity,  and  speed  of  their  movement,  they  were 
suddenly  brought  to  a mortifying  stand  by  a strong 
iron  chain  drawn  entirely  across  the  street  in  front  of  a 
church.  It  need  scarcely  be  said,  that  they  felt  the 
emotions  of  indignation  and  hatred  against  the  chain, 
and  against  the  authority,  that  threw  it  across  their 
path.  They  had  been  conscious  of  no  such  hatred  be- 
fore ; it  was  a new  emotion,  drawn  out  by  new  circum- 
stances. But  God  himself  had  thrown  another  chain 
across  their  path,  stronger  than  iron  or  adamant.  He 
had  littered,  with  his  own  awful  voice,  from  Sinai, 
“ Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.”  He  had 
interposed  his  own  awful  authority  to  prevent  these 
young  men  from  “ doing  their  own  pleasure”  on  that 
day.  And  why,  then,  did  they  not  feel  the  same  hatred 
rising  against  this  obstruction  to  the  gratification  oi 
their  desires  ? This  is  a question  of  great  importance ; 
and  though  the  answer  is  brief,  it  is  worthy  of  deep 
reflection  : — Because  it  was  a moral,  and  not  a physical 
chain — because  it  made  their  pleasure  wrong , but  not 
impossible — because  it  consisted,  for  the  present,  only 
in  a precept  and  a threatened  penalty.  Had'  Jehovah 
met  them  when  sallying  from  their  dwellings, — had  He 
laid  His  mighty  hand  upon  their  puny  arms,  and  held 
them  back  from  their  career  of  sinful  pleasure, — had 
He  sounded  in  their  ear  his  awful  threatenings  at  every 
step  of  their  progress, — had  He  shown  that,  for  every 
moment  of  pleasure,  He  would  visit  upon  them  ages  of 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  51 

wrath, — then  they  might  have  found,  that  they  hated 
Jehovah,  as  they  hated  that  iron  chain.  But  no  ; His 
holy  law  lay  unobtrusive  in  their  neglected  Bible  ; it 
troubled  them  not,  it  checked  them  not ; and  hence 
they  felt  no  present  opposition  to  it.  Jehovah  bade 
His  sun  to  shine  upon  them,  and  was  sending  the  tide 
of  life,  in  gladdening  pulses,  through  their  frames  ; and 
they  could  exclaim,  with  entire  security,  “ Why  should 
I hate  Him  ? He  does  me  nothing  but  good.” 

Let  the  awful  truth  be  repeated  ; — man  has  staked 
his  happiness  against  the  authority  of  the  eternal  Law- 
giver. And  it  is  a fact,  to  which  the  world  should 
attend  with  the  profoundest  interest,  that,  just  as  much 
as  man  loves  his  own  happiness,  just  so  strongly  must 
he,  if  unconverted,  sooner  or  later,  hate  the  legislative 
rights,  character,  and  acts  of  Jehovah.  This  hatred 
sometimes  breaks  out  on  a broad  scale,  and  “ the  kings 
of  the  earth  set  themselves  against  the  Lord  and 
against  His  Anointed,  saying,  Let  us  break  His  bands 
asunder,  and  cast  away  His  cords  from  us.”  And 
there  has  probably  never  been  the  age,  or  nation,  in 
which  the  men,  who  have  boldly  and  urgently  asserted 
the  law  of  God  in  its  length  and  breadth,  have  not 
drawn  upon  themselves  the  persecution,  either  of  ridi- 
cule, of  hatred,  or  of  death.  Which  of  the  stern 
prophets  was  not  hated  and  sought  for  as  a beast  of 
prey,  even  among  the  Jews  ? Who  is  the  man  in  this 
age  or  nation,  that  dares  to  urge  the  law  of  God,  and 
its  penalty  of  endless  death,  on  his  contemporaries,  that 
will  not  be  called  by  some  one  or  more  of  the  various 
consecrated  titles  of  puritan,  bigot,  and  fanatic  ? It  must 
be  so,  as  long  as  the  human  heart  is  true  to  its  own  con- 
stitution. If  it  seeks  its  own  gratification  as  the  end  of 


52 


SERMON  II. 


its  existence,  if  its  whole  plan  of  happiness  is  based  on 
that,  then  it  must  hate  that  holy  law,  which  enforces 
upon  it  an  end  so  different,  by  an  authority  so  dreadful, 
and  under  a penalty  so  awful. 

There  are  two  ways,  in  which  men  have  always  en- 
deavored to  avoid  the  painful  discovery  of  this  truth. 
The  one  is,  to  deny  the  revealed  character  of  a law  so 
pure,  and  holy,  and  difficult,  and  contradictory  to  our 
passions.  If  a man  can  fix  his  foot  firmly  on  that 
ground,  he  will  of  course  discover  no  opposition  to  the 
Lawgiver,  because  he  sees  no  clashing  between  the  will 
of  God  and  his  own  will.  The  other  course  is,  to  ad- 
mit the  existence  of  the  law,  but  on  various  grounds  to 
deny  the  execution  of  the  penalty.  But  here  is  the 
strong  hold  of  our  argument.  We  do  not  say,  that  man 
will  hate  a God,  who  tells  him,  that  he  must  not  do 
this  or  that  wrong  action,  because  it  is  very  bad,  and 
if  he  does,  God  is  so  merciful,  that  He  will  treat  him 
just  as  well  as  He  does  the  obedient  angels.  We  say 
it  is  manifest,  beyond  all  contradiction,  that  if  God  be 
such  a God  as  He  has  declared  himself  to  be,  if  He 
means  to  maintain  His  own  authority,  at  the  expense 
of  His  creatures5  everlasting  well-being  because  they 
have  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  His  will,  and  if 
men  hate  the  torments  of  the  second  death,  then  must 
they  either  change  their  plans  and  hearts,  or  hate  the 
character  of  God  the  Law-maker.  If  it  be,  that  there 
is  no  everlasting  punishment  for  unbelief,  for  impeni- 
tence, for  worldliness,  for  neglect  of  religion,  then  we 
abandon  our  present  argument.  But  if  we  understand 
the  record  aright,  then  we  challenge  the  world  to  deny 
this  proposition,  that  a great  change  must  take  place  in 
the  character  of  the  natural  man  to  have  him  willing, 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  53 

nay  pleased,  to  see  God  threatening,  with  His  everlast- 
ing wrath,  the  pursuit  of  selfish  gratification.  If  there 
is  a cherished  object  with  the  human  soul,  it  is  to  main- 
tain the  independence  of  the  will ; and  if  men  will  but 
read  their  own  hearts  aright,  they  will  find  this  to  be 
the  contested  point  even  with  their  Creator.  The 
struggle  is  slight,  and  suspended  by  frequent  intervals. 
But  Jehovah  is  coming  out  from  His  hiding-place  to 
reveal  His  Supreme  authority,  armed  with  His  mighty 
thunders.  Will  the  unsubdued,  long-indulged  will  of 
man  then  bow  sweetly  ? If  mercy  and  love  have  failed 
to  soften,  will  Majesty  and  Terror  win  the  heart  ? No, 
fellow-men  ! no.  Hear  it  from  God’s  messengers  now, 
in  the  land  of  hope,  and  in  the  day  of  peace.  No  ; 
“ the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God  ; for  it  is  not 
subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.” 

We  see  this  truth  from  another  point  of  view. 

II.  Man  hates  the  sovereignty  of  God.  God  is 
the  Supreme  Being ; all  things  being  made  by  Him 
and  for  Him.  His  right  to  accomplish  his  own  desires, 
and  to  include  the  free  actions  of  man  and  all  the  hu- 
man powers  in  His  plan,  none  will  deny.  Nay,  it  is 
evident  that  He  must  carry  out  His  plans,  even  to  the 
sacrifice  of  every  other  interest,  which  may  have  made 
itself  inconsistent  with  those  plans. — “ But  what  if  the 
plans  of  a sovereign  God  require  the  abandonment  of 
our  most  beloved  objects  ? Must  we  then  cordially 
submit?” — Yes,  you  must  either  love,  or  hate  a sove- 
reign God.  If  you  love  him  supremely,  your  chief 
happiness  will  be  derived  from  seeing  Him  accomplish 
His  sovereign  will.  If  you  prefer  your  own  immediate 
gratification,  or  apparent  temporal  interest,  to  His  will, 
then  either  His  will  must  be  unperformed,  or  it  must 

5* 


54 


SE  RMON  I I. 


accord  with  your  will,  or  you  must  be  the  enemy  of 
God. 

This  argument  is  conclusive  to  him,  who  will  reflect 
upon  it.  But  we  can  look  at  it  in  a still  more  impres- 
sive light.  Is  the  human  heart  strong  in  its  attach- 
ments ? Yes,  that  is  its  glory.  And  yet,  in  the  very 
strength  of  those  attachments,  when  perverted,  the 
heart  will  find  its  sources  of  rebellion  against  a sove- 
reign God.  Is  there  not  strength  in  the  attachment  of 
a man  to  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  to  their  lovely  lit- 
tle first-born  son  ? But  what  if  that  husband  is  sud- 
denly called  from  the  midst  of  his  business,  to  behold 
that  lovely  infant  a pallid  corpse,  and  that  lovely  wife 
in  the  agonies  of  death  ? Would  it  he  strange  if  he 
should  raise  his  clasped  hands  in  the  frenzy  of  his  an- 
guish, and  exclaim — “ O God ! what  have  these  inno- 
cent ones  done,  that  Thou  shouldst  thus  tear  them 
from  earth’s  bright  prospects  ? — what  have  I done,  that 
Thou  shouldst  rob  me  of  more  than  life  ?”  Say  not, 
this  is  exaggerated.  There  was  one,  who  could  say 
under  circumstances  somewhat  similar — “ The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ; blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord.”  But  that  man  had  not  “ the  carnal 
mind  he  had  learned  to  value  the  creature  less  than 
the  Creator  ; he  had  not  looked  to  the  creature,  how- 
ever lovely,  however  promising,  as  the  source  of  his 
highest  happiness.  Acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God 
was  the  main-spring  of  his  joy  ; and  hence  the  loss  of 
beloved  objects  only  furnished  an  occasion  to  manifest 
that  resignation.  But  our  text  speaks  not  of  that  class 
of  minds ; and  we  are  not  speaking  of  them.  We  speak 
indeed  of  the  heart  that  is  full  of  the  tenderest  senti- 
ments of  kindness,  and  susceptible  of  all  that  is  noble, 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  55 

in  attachment  to  objects  worthy  of  its  love.  We  speak 
of  the  heart,  loving  not  wrong  objects,  but  such  as  are 
right,  in  undue  proportion ; of  the  heart  that  clings  to 
any  earthly  good  with  all  the  intensity  of  its  passions. 
And  of  this  heart  we  affirm,  that,  in  its  present  condition, 
it  is  liable,  every  moment,  to  such  an  in-breaking  of 
the  hand  of  God  to  tear  away  all  it  has  cherished  and 
adored,  that  a new  emotion  of  enmity  may  spring  up 
like  a viper,  and  become  under  the  successive  intrusions 
of  a sovereign  Providence  the  master-passion.  Do  you 
love  any  thing,  fellow-man  ? — is  it  a human  being — is 
it  the  good  opinions  of  men — is  it  the  universal  idol, 
wealth,  as  possessed,  or  as  pursued  ? Go  into  thy 
heart,  and  know  thyself ; see  if  it  is  not  possible  for  the 
plans  of  God  so  to  interfere  with  thine,  that  He  would 
appear  to  thee  thine  enemy ; and,  if  He  did,  wouldst 
thou  then  love  Him  ? Hast  thou  learned  to  love  thine 
enemy,  thy  strong  enemy,  who  mars  each  favorite 
scheme,  who  hurts  thy  good  name,  who  maims  thy 
body,  who  takes  from  thee  thy  gold  : nay,  who  makes 
thee,  in  the  same  day,  a desolate  mourner  at  the  tomb 
of  thy  wife  and  child  ? 

But  from  this  appeal  and  the  argument  couched 
under  it,  there  is  an  apparent  escape.  It  is,  either  that 
such  things  will  not  happen  to  the  individual ; or,  if 
they  do,  that  he  will  not  trace  them  to  the  hand  of 
Providence.  Upon  these  replies  much  might  be  said 
to  confirm  our  position.  The  cases  stated  are  neither 
imaginary,  nor  of  unfrequent  occurrence  ; and  if  they 
should  not  occur,  it  is  not  the  less  certain,  that  the  car- 
nal mind  merely  tolerates  a sovereign  God,  so  long  as 
His  plans  do  not  interfere  with  those  it  has  cherished. 
And  with  regard  to  the  others,  it  is  true,  that  there  may 


56 


SERMON  II. 


be  such  an  atheistical  disregard  of  the  hand  of  God  in 
the  common  events  of  life,  that  he  may  not  become  the 
object  of  immediate  hatred,  because  He  is  not  recog- 
nised as  interfering  with  the  individual’s  happiness. 
But  what  if  the  man  should  find  out,  that  nothing 
takes  place  except  by  His  ordering  ? — what  if  he  should 
discover,  that  the  most  common  events  of  life  form  so 
many  links  in  the  great  chain,  which  binds  the  pur- 
poses of  God  to  their  issues  ? — what  if  he  finds  God 
charging  him  to  see  His  hand  and  will  in  each  minut- 
est occurrence  ? Will  he  love  Him  ? — No,  not  if  there 
be  strength  in  human  passions  ; — no,  not  if  he  has  not 
learned  to  love  his  enemy  ; — no,  no  ; the  man,  who 
hates  the  insect  that  annoys  him,  who  hates  the  robber 
of  his  property,  the  murderer  of  his  child,  the  tyrant 
that  casts  him  into  prison,  must  find  the  same  emotion 
arising  towards  even  the  mighty  God,  whom  he  sees 
crushing,  in  His  omnipotent  movement,  every  idol  of 
his  soul’s  affection.  It  is  true,  that  his  conscience  will 
not  condemn  God,  as  it  condems  the  fellow-man  who 
injures  him ; but  the  hatred,  which  is  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  this  faculty,  will  exist  none  the  less. 

We  state  a third  argument. 

HI.  The  carnal  mind  hates  the  mercy  of  God . 
Here  we  seem  to  be  in  even  more  glaring  inconsistency 
with  consciousness  than  in  any  former  assertion.  But 
men  have  deceived  themselves,  in  regard  to  what  they 
really  were  conscious  of  on  other  subjects ; and  a 
closer  attention  may  discover  an  illusion  here.  It 
might  be  thought,  at  the  first  glance,  that  the  very  self- 
ishness, which  we  charge  on  man,  would  make  him 
love  a merciful  God.  We  ask  attention  to  facts  which 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  57 

bear  on  this  subject ; the  facts  of  history,  and  the  facts 
of  consciousness. 

If  the  mercy  of  God  consisted  in  the  mere  direct 
gratification  of  the  wants  of  men,  our  position  were 
then  false.  This  vague  notion  is  wonderfully  prevalent 
in  the  world,  but  is  infinitely  removed  from  the  sublime 
and  holy  attribute  called  Mercy  in  the  Scriptures.  It 
we  might  attempt  a Scriptural  definition  of  it  in  part, 
we  should  say,  that  it  is  the  kindness  of  God  to  men 
introducing  the  means  of  bringing  them  to  holiness, 
forgiveness  and  heaven.  And  there  is  the  offensive 
aspect  of  all  its  manifestations  ; its  powers  and  riches 
are  all  exerted  to  make  man  holy,  that  he  may  be  truly 
and  for  ever  happy.  It  was  mercy,  that  bowed  the 
listening  ear  to  Abel’s  prayer,  and  smiled  propitiously 
on  his  sacrifice  ; it  was  grace  that  taught  and  inclined 
him  to  make  the  acceptable  offering.  What  was  the 
effect  of  that  display  of  grace  to  fallen  man  ? It  kin- 
dled the  passions  of  hell  in  the  bosom  of  Cain,  and  the 
hatred,  which  could  find  no  vent  toward  the  God  of 
mercy,  fell  in  murderous  stroke  upon  an  innocent  bro- 
ther. That  mercy  promised  to  exalt  Joseph  even  above 
all  that  his  brethren  or  father  had  attained.  And  this 
it  was  that  excited  the  murderous  purpose  of  his  breth- 
ren, even  to  the  desperate  extent  of  defeating  the  very 
purposes  of  the  Almighty.  The  Israelites  were  led 
out  of  Egypt  in  mercy ; but  because  every  thing  was 
not  arranged  to  their  wishes,  the  very  plans  and  achiev- 
ments  and  instruments  of  that  mercy  perpetually  arous- 
ed their  wrath.  The  prophets  were  sent  in  mercy ; 
but  these  were  stoned  and  sawn  asunder  and  driven  to 
dwell  with  wild  beasts.  At  last  the  Son  of  God  came, 
the  Messenger  of  mercy.  From  the  cradle  to  the  tomb. 


58 


SERMON  II. 


He  drew  forth  the  rage  and  malice  of  men.  His  doc- 
trines, His  conduct,  His  very  exertions  of  merciful 
power,  continually  drew  upon  Him  the  most  bitter  and 
desperate  hatred. 

What  more  can  be  needed,  than  the  narrative  of  the 
four  Evangelists,  to  establish  the  general  fact  concern- 
ing the  carnal  mind,  that  it  hates  even  the  mercy  of 
God  ? Look  at  the  history  of  that  eventful  period,  in 
which  an  experiment  was  made  on  human  nature  ; — 
an  experiment  to  us,  not  to  God,  for  He  knew  what 
was  in  man.  It  is  true,  that  we  call  the  men  of  that 
day  proud,  hypocritical,  unbelieving  Jews  and  Phari- 
sees ; but  they  were  men  ; they  had  the  same  carnal 
mind  which  has  existed  in  all  ages,  and  still  exists, 
however  varied  its  form  and  outward  bearing.  There 
lived  at  that  same  period  Herod  and  Jesus  ; the  one 
was  an  obscene,  blood-thirsty  tyrant,  a cruel  extortion- 
er,— the  other  was  a pure,  mild,  and  modest  philan- 
thropist. The  one  filled  the  land  of  Israel  with  the 
instruments  of  his  extortion,  with  blood  and  tears  ; — the 
other  was  seen  in  the  places  of  poverty,  and  a mid  the 
sad  children  of  affliction,  wiping  the  tear  from  sorrow’s 
eye,  and  healing  its  broken  heart.  The  one  was  toler- 
ated ; but  the  other  was  the  object  of  a relentless  perse- 
cution, which  never  let  down  its  watchful  malignity, 
until  it  had  heard  His  death-groans,  and  seen  His  life- 
blood flow  beneath  its  stroke.  This  was  indeed  the 
highest  proof  that  man  could  give  of  his  hatred  to  God, 
even  when  he  displayed  nothing  but  his  unmingled 
mercy  ; but  it  was  not  the  last.  The  ascended  Re- 
deemer continued  the  exercise  of  that  goodness,  in  the 
communication  of  the  sanctifying  Spirit.  When  the 
disciples  Avere  met  to  pray  for  this  display  of  that  good 


MAN'S  NATURAL  ENMITY  TO  GOD.  59 

ness,  suddenly  the  Spirit  came  upon  them ; and  from 
that  hour  began  their  unparalleled  career  of  beneficent 
miracles,  and  of  persuasive  presentation  of  the  offers  of 
eternal  life.  Wherever  they  went,  the  presence  and  pow- 
er of  the  Spirit  of  God  were  felt.  But  his  reception  was 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Son  of  God ; cities  were  filled  with 
tumult  and  uproar  whenever  the  Divine  Spirit  alighted, 
so  that  the  standing  title  of  the  apostles  was — “ the  men 
that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down.”  The  Spirit 
of  God  did  not  assume  a visible  form,  which  could  be- 
come the  immediate  object  of  men’s  hatred  ; but  he  was 
seen  and  heard  in  the  acts  and  words  of  the  apostles. 
And  Paul  declares  to  us,  that  mobs  and  stonings,  re- 
vilings,  stripes  and  imprisonment  were  his  rewards, 
everywhere,  for  fulfilling  God’s  errand  of  mercy  to  his 
fellow-men. 

But  we  leave  the  facts  of  ancient  history  for  those 
of  our  own  day,  and  the  experience  of  other  men  for 
that,  which  we  cannot  doubt,  nor  deny,  as  constituting 
a part  of  our  personal  moral  history.  We  assert  no- 
thing here,  but  propose  such  inquiries  and  suggestions 
as  may  expose  this  very  hatred  of  God’s  mercy,  in 
hearts,  which  would  tremble  to  admit  the  awful  con- 
clusion, while  they  cannot  deny  the  facts  from  which 
it  is  drawn.  Some  may  recollect  an  opposition  to  the 
gracious  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  other  per- 
sons, and  some  an  opposition  to  those  influences  in 
themselves.  The  Savior  said,  that  He  had  come  to 
divide  households  and  to  put  a sword  between  friends. 
He  came  to  lead  men  to  holiness.  But  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  that  gracious  work,  a new  and  ineon- 
genial  element,  is  brought  into  the  midst  of  the  so- 
cial and  domestic  mass  ; and,  as  when  a change  takes 


60 


SE  RMON  I I. 


place  in  the  electrical  condition  of  bodies,  the  strongest 
revulsions  are  sometimes  the  consequence.  The  influ- 
ences of  the  grace  of  God  may  be  sudden,  and  the 
decisive  changes  in  the  feeling  and  deportment  of  indi- 
viduals often  call  forth  the  strong  disapprobation  of 
friends.  It  may  be,  indeed,  that  this  disapprobation 
shall  attach  itself  to  some  of  the  human  imperfection, 
which  mingles  with  this  new  form  of  character ; but 
after  all,  its  real  origin  is  in  the  discovery  of  the  direct 
and  merciful  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the 
heart.  The  relations  of  life  are  such,  that  the  religious 
principles  of  one  person  may  very  greatly  interfere 
with  the  schemes  of  profit  or  pleasure  formed  by  an- 
other ; and  these  religious  principles  are  the  fruits  of 
God’s  mercy.  But  the  carnal  mind,  thwarted  and 
checked,  feels  a hatred  of  those  principles,  and  thus  of 
the  mercy  which  caused  them.  This  hatred  to  the 
religious  principles  and  character  of  another  comes  up 
in  a thousand  shapes  ; but,  however  it  comes,  it  shows 
this  fact  conclusively,  that  the  carnal  mind  hates  the 
movements  of  the  Divine  mercy,  as  interfering  with  its 
plans  and  pleasures.  Whoever  feels  the  risings  of 
contempt,  or  of  opposition  towards  the  strict  religious 
principle,  or  elevated  religious  sentiment,  manifested 
by  another,  shows  that  he  hates  the  grace  of  God.  But 
sometimes  that  grace  comes  yet  nearer,  and  touches  our 
own  hearts,  to  wake  them  from  their  fatal  slumbers. 
The  startled  conscience  begins  to  take  a review  of  life, 
under  a new  light  and  a new  impulse.  The  past  is 
condemned — the  present,  is  condemned — the  future  is 
appalling;  inward,  upward, backward,  onward,  which- 
ever way  its  keen  glance  is  turned,  the  record  of  guilt 
and  the  threat  of  judgment  are  beheld.  This  is  painful ; 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  61 

but  it  ought  to  be  felt  by  every  child  of  Adam,  and  it 
ought  to  be  welcomed,  provided  it  lead  us  to  Christ  as 
the  Author  of  pardon  and  peace.  It  ought  to  be  wel- 
comed, for  it  is  the  visit  of  the  Spirit  of  mercy  to  our 
guilty  bosoms  ; it  is,  in  fact,  the  last  effort  of  mercy  for 
our  redemption.  That  renovated  power  of  conscience 
is  from  the  blessed  Spirit.  But  how  is  it  treated  ? We 
have  reason  to  fear,  that  the  greater  part,  who  hear  the 
Gospel,  dread  and  detest  those  very  feelings  and  con- 
ditions of  the  mind.  Who  has  not  shrank  from  the 
keen  pressure  of  the  truth,  beneath  some  faithful  Spirit- 
taught  messenger  of  God  ? who  has  not  dreaded  the 
interview  of  the  faithful  Christian  friend,  who,  it  was 
known,  would  urge  to  repentance  and  holiness?  who 
has  not  turned  away  from  his  Bible,  feeling  that  it  was 
too  dull,  too  gloomy,  too  reproving?  who  has  not 
banished  the  oft-rising  reflections  upon  the  guilt  and 
danger  of  the  present  condition  of  the  soul  ? who  has 
not  run  away  from  himself,  and  from  the  secret  place 
of  prayer,  to  join  the  thoughtless  throng?  Now,  in  all 
this  the  heart  discloses  its  opposition  to  an  Infinite 
mercy  that  fain  would  save  it, — to  that  mercy,  that 
paid  the  debt  for  the  soul,  and  sends  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
deliver  the  deluded  and  unwilling  captive.  Hearer  ! 
God  has  no  other  mercy  than  a holy  mercy ; no  other 
merciful  treatment  of  thee  than  to  make  thee  holy.  If 
this  please  thee  not,  it  is  because  thou  hast  the  carnal 
mind,  which  hates  God. 

This  doctrine  stands  among  those  fearful  and  painful 
truths,  the  belief  of  which  is  most  important,  because 
fundamental  to  all  true  repentance  and  faith  in  the 
Gospel.  God  has  besought  man  to  become  reconciled 
to  Him ; but  the  appropriateness  and  tenderness  of  that 

6 


62 


SERMON  II. 


entreaty  are  seen  only  by  him,  who  recognises  himself 
to  be  at  enmity  with  God.  Every  man  would  fain 
know  how  he  can  secure  his  immortal  happiness  ; and 
yet  the  greater  part  shrink  from  the  contemplation  and 
belief  of  the  fact  that  man  needs  salvation  as  a sinner , 
conversion  as  an  enemy  of  God  and  holiness,  pardon 
and  reconciliation  as  a rebel  against  the  Divine  govern- 
ment. “ They  that  are  whole  need  not  a physician, 
but  they  that  are  sick” — is  a simple  truth,  but  it  in- 
volves some  most  important  considerations.  The  Sa- 
vior would  by  it  exhibit  the  necessity  of  a distinct  and 
deep  impression  of  our  dangerous  and  painful  condition, 
in  order  to  prepare  us  to  understand  and  to  appreciate 
the  Gospel.  The  object  of  this  discourse  is  to  describe 
the  fearful  feature  of  this  sickness,  to  induce  the  per- 
sonal conviction  on  the  mind — ‘ I am  sick,  and  my 
malady  is  sin  ; — I am  sick,  not  by  misfortune,  but  by 
guilty  and  persevering  choice.  I love  the  creature 
supremely,  and  consequently  must  find  myself  opposed 
to  God  sooner  or  later.  It  is  true  I am  not  at  present 
conscious  of  any  such  enmity — but  I see  it  in  the  future. 
Changes  in  my  circumstances  must  soon  occur ; and 
occurring,  must  show  me  in  perfect  and  perpetual  hos- 
tility to  Jehovah.  I have  flattered  myself  to  believe 
that  my  heart  is  good ; but  I am  convinced,  that,  in 
the  sight  of  God,  nothing  can  be  truly  good  in  that 
heart  which  hates  Him.  I have  looked  with  horror 
on  the  wickedness  of  other  men ; but  now  I see  that 
other  men  have,  while  they  surpassed  me  in  the  degree 
of  wickedness,  not  differed  from  me  in  the  nature  of 
their  heart.  They  have  been  cruel  to  men,  because 
they  had  gone  so  far  as  to  despise  the  very  image  of  the 
God  whom  they  hated.  I have  hated  the  bitterness 


man’s  natural  enmity  to  god.  63 

and  cruelty  of  persecutions  on  account  of  religion,  but 
these  have  been  made  thus  bitter  only  by  the  increased 
degree  of  that  very  opposition  to  God  which  I indulge 
in  my  own  heart.  Others  have  given  themselves  to 
excessive  sensuality,  and  I have  despised  them  for  it ; 
but  now  I see  that  they  had  only  matured  that  love  of 
created  good,  which  constitutes  the  leading  feature 
of  my  own  character.  My  pride  is  wounded  at  the 
discovery ; but  it  is  truth,  and  I can  close  my  eyes  no 
longer  against  it.  The  Bible  insists  on  the  necessity 
of  conversion  in  the  case  of  every  human  being.  Now 
I see  that  1 must  be  born  again.  My  enmity  to  God 
arises  from  my  supreme  attachment  to  the  creature- 
good  ; and  it  can  cease  only  when  I cease  to  entertain 
the  carnal  mind.  Here  is  the  deliverance  I need,  and 
here  is  my  dependence  on  the  risen  Savior.  It  is  only 
by  the  power  of  His  Spirit  that  my  chains  can  be 
broken ; by  Him  my  heart  must  be  changed ; by  His 
sweet  power  my  enmity  turned  to  love.’ 

But  the  hearer  may  fail  to  receive  such  convictions 
from  this  discourse,  because  the  argument  turning  upon 
individual  experience,  may  have  failed  of  resemblance 
to  his  personal  consciousness.  It  must  then  remain 
with  him  either  to  reject  the  declaration  of  God,  or  to 
look  more  closely  at  his  own  mental  exercises,  and  see  if 
he  cannot  thereby  confirm  this  truth  of  the  Scriptures. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  supreme  love  of  the  creature  is  a dreadful  evil. 

This  is  the  precise  state  of  mind  indicated  by  the 
phrase,  “ the  carnal  mind.”  In  many  of  its  forms  it 
appears,  to  him  who  looks  only  on  the  outward  appear- 
ance, very  innocent,  and  often  even  amiable.  But  here 
we  see  its  real  character,  and  its  terrific  consequences. 


64 


SERMON  II. 


It  has  these  two  dreadful  issues.  First,  it  makes  it  im- 
possible that  you  can  enter  heaven.  In  heaven,  they 
love  God  supremely  ; — you  love  the  creature  supreme- 
ly. In  heaven,  they  have  no  will,  nor  plans,  inde- 
pendent of  God’s;  but  everything  is  insweet,  intelligent, 
cordial  submission  to  His  will.  “ The  carnal  mind  is 
enmity  against  God,  is  not  subject  to  His  law,  neither 
indeed  can  be.”  Then  it  cannot  enter  heaven. 

Another  consequence  of  the  carnal  mind  is,  that  it 
arrays  its  possessor  against  the  government,  plans,  and 
will  of  God.  There  can  be  no  question,  as  to  which 
party  must  yield.  God’s  is  the  strongest  arm  ; His  is 
the  cause  of  righteousness.  The  conscience  of  every 
creature  must  pronounce  you  wrong,  and  must  vindi- 
cate God  in  your  condemnation.  Yes,  you  must  perish 
remaining  in  that  state  of  mind.  God’s  potent  arm 
must  roll  forward  the  wheels  of  His  providence.  If 
you  lay  your  idols  in  their  path,  your  idols  will  be  crush- 
ed ; if  you  set  yourselves  in  opposition  to  that  mighty 
movement,  you  must  perish.  Then  will  He  “laugh 
at  your  calamity,  and  mock  when  your  fear  cometh.” 

2.  “ Except  a man  be  born  again  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God.”  “ Marvel  not  that  I say  unto  you, 
Ye  must  be  born  again.”  The  carnal  mind  must  be 
put  away.  But  where  shall  one  begin  ? At  the  cross 
of  Christ.  Renounce  the  world  in  thine  heart,  and  cast 
thyself  on  Christ. 

The  conquest  of  the  carnal  mind  is  not  the  work  of 
a moment ; it  is  the  labor  of  life.  But  there  must  be 
a moment  in  which  it  begins  ; that  moment  should  be 
now.  There  is  a spot  of  earth,  occupying  which,  you 
should  give  yourself  for  healing  into  the  hands  of  the 
great  Physician.  That  spot  you  occupy  now. 


SERMON  III. 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


have  written  auto  you , Young  Men , because  ye 
are  strong .” — 1 John  ii.  14. 

The  venerable  writer  of  this  epistle  had  passed 
through  the  five  stages  of  human  existence : infancy, 
childhood,  youth,  manhood,  and  old  age.  Time  had 
now  silvered  his  locks,  and  given  its  mellow  tints  to  a 
character,  which,  even  in  his  earliest  manhood,  had 
secured  to  him  the  title  of  “ the  beloved  disciple.5’  There 
is,  through  the  whole  of  this  letter,  a vein  of  exquisite 
simplicity  and  tenderness.  He  looked  back  to  the 
period  of  youth,  and  remembered,  how  critical  and  im- 
portant a season  it  had  been  to  him.  By  the  grace  of 
God,  his  seed  time  had  been  rightly  employed,  and  he 
was  now  reaping  a golden  harvest  of  serenity,  intelli- 
gence, the  confidence  of  good  men,  usefulness,  and  a 
perfect  assurance  of  eternal  blessedness.  He  had  leaned 
upon  the  Savior’s  bosom;  he  had  followed  him  the 
most  closely  in  the  hour  of  peril  ; and  he  was  now 
finding,  in  rich  experience,  that  such  was  the  best  pre- 
paration that  a young  man  could  make,  for  the  sober 
realities  of  age,  and  for  an  approaching  eternity.  Hence 
his  counsels  were  turned  to  young  men.  “I  have 
written  unto  you,  young  men,  because,  ye  are  strong.” 
6* 


66 


SERMON  III. 


His  reference  is  not  to  the  physical,  but  to  the  mental 
vigor  of  youth.  Mental  strength  is  a merciful  gift  of 
God,  which  may  be  wasted  on  trifles,  or  perverted  to 
evil,  or  used  for  great  and  good  purposes.  It  is  the 
power,  which  God  has  imparted  to  form  our  own 
character,  and  to  control  the  character  and  destinies 
of  others.  In  reference  to  the  subject  before  us,  we  are 
not  called  upon  to  examine  the  manner,  or  time,  in 
which  this  strength  is  imparted  from  our  beneficent 
and  merciful  Creator.  It  is  strength, — human  strength, 
and,  of  course,  derived  strength,  to  which  the  apostle 
alludes.  The  praise  and  gratitude  belong  to  God  who 
gives  it.  To  man  belong  the  privilege  and  the  respon- 
sibility of  possessing  it.  Let  our  attention,  then,  be 
directed  first  to  those  great  objects,  which  the  young 
should  distinctly  and  constantly  propose  to  themselves, 
as  the  glorious  achievements,  for  which,  by  the  energy, 
the  freshness,  the  enthusiasm  of  their  age,  they  are  so 
peculiarly  qualified.  We  consider, 

I.  The  noblest  objects  of  youthful  desire  and  pur- 
suit. 

1.  Personal  improvement.  I mean  by  this,  that 
every  young  man  should  aim  to  become  as  truly  good 
and  excellent  as  he  can  be.  I speak  not  now  of  his 
becoming  great.  That  we  shall  consider  presently.  It 
is  painful  to  discover,  how  few  of  the  young  men  of 
Christian  countries  take  a sufficiently  elevated  view 
of  themselves,  as  endowed  with  the  noblest,  though 
perverted,  creature-powers.  One  looks  upon  himself 
in  no  higher  light,  than  as  a mint  for  the  coining  of 
money.  If  he  can  learn  the  great  art  of  accumulating 
property,  he  has  reached  the  summit  of  human  excel- 
lence. Multitudes  are  satisfied  with  the  mere  training 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


67 


of  their  muscular  powers  in  some  mechanical  art,  to 
the  utter  neglect  of  all  the  mighty  powers  of  intellect, 
and  of  all  the  finer  sentiments  and  affections  of  the 
heart.  It  is  painful  to  know,  that  every  youth  has  a 
depraved  heart,  and  still  more  so,  to  observe  that  so 
few  have  any  desire  to  rectify  the  moral  derangement, 
and  to  restore  to  the  soul  the  sweet,  harmonious, 
balanced  exercise  of  its  powers.  Nay,  some  have  even 
yielded  themselves  to  the  gratification  of  every  de- 
praved desire  and  feeling;  restrained  only  by  a regard 
to  their  reputation.  They  look  upon  the  present  life, 
not  as  probationary  and  disciplinary,  and  preparatory 
to  a better ; but  as  the  golden  time  for  the  indulgence 
of  all  the  lower  propensities  of  the  mind. 

My  proposal  to  the  young  before  me  is — that  they 
look  upon  the  immortal  mind  within,  as  their  noblest 
possession ; and  upon  the  training  of  that,  under 
the  blessing  of  God,  to  piety  and  virtue,  as  their  most 
important  employment.  It  is  that  part  of  your  nature, 
which  places  you  but  little  below  the  angels.  It  is 
upon  the  proper  employment  of  its  powers,  that  your 
happiness  here,  and  your  blessedness  hereafter,  entirely 
depend.  Your  moral  condition  is  a peculiarity  in  the 
history  of  God’s  empire.  Angels,  before  you,  have  fal- 
len from  their  high  estate  ; but,  unlike  you,  they  have 
no  mediator  with  God.  They  have  no  hope  of  pardon. 
Like  you,  they  are  perpetually  disturbing  and  distract- 
ing the  delicate  harmony  of  their  moral  powers.  But, 
unlike  you,  they  are  under  no  dispensation  of  grace. 
No  sweet,  overwhelming  views  of  the  benignity  and 
mercy  of  their  offended  Creator  shines  upon  their  dreary, 
despairing  souls.  While  Memory  incessantly  portrays 
the  scenes  of  former  glory  and  happiness,  the  finger  of 


68 


SERMON  III. 


Hope  never  points  them  to  eminences  of  bliss,  and  per- 
sonal perfection,  which  may  be  attained.  To  you, 
young  friends ! to  you  all  this  pertains.  There  is  a 
provision  in  the  mercy  of  God,  not  only  for  the  pardon 
of  the  penitent,  but  also  for  the  eusuring  of  success  “ to 
them,  who  by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing,  seek 
for  glory  and  honor,  and  immortality.”  Who,  that  has 
once  conceived  aught  of  the  primitive  condition  of  man, 
or  of  angelic  purity,  does  not  see,  that  the  world  within 
him  has  lost  its  balancing  power  ? Disorder  and  discord 
have  usurped  the  place  of  order  and  harmony.  God 
was  once  the  centre  of  all  the  social  system,  and  love 
its  attractive  power.  Then  the  created  soul  moved  in 
its  own  sphere,  in  harmony  with  the  universe.  Then 
God  was  its  light  and  its  life.  But  now  the  centripetal 
power  of  love  is  lost  from  the  soul,  and  its  centrifugal 
energies  are  driving  the  poor  wandering  star  into  the 
“blackness  of  darkness”  eternal.  God  is  no  longer  its 
centre.  And  hence,  where  once  were  verdant  bloom- 
ings, the  cold  and  barrenness  of  polar  regions  are  seen 
and  felt.  Where  the  love  of  God  exists  not,  there  must 
be  confusion,  corruption,  and  death.  Where  self  is  the 
centre  of  attraction,  the  primitive  order  is  destroyed, 
and  what  should  have  produced  life  and  blessedness, 
must  result  in  misery  and  death. 

Who,  that  knows  himself,  can  refuse  the  application 
to  himself  of  these  remarks  ? Who  can  say — “ I am 
right ; — I am  clean  ; — I am  prepared  without  change  to 
stand  before  the  throne  of  God ; — this  delicate  machinery 
has  never  been  disturbed,  its  balance-wheel  never  fail- 
ed ?”  Man’s  moral  depravity  consists  in  his  perverted 
affections,  and  in  the  voluntary  blindness  of  his  con- 
science, and  the  feebleness  of  its  directing  power.  The 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  69 

conscience  was  given  to  show  us,  when  and  how  far 
our  desires  and  affections  may  be  properly  gratified. 
We  are  supremely  selfish,  when  all  our  choices,  pur- 
poses, and  actions  tend  only  to  our  own  gratification. 
We  are  ungodly,  when  our  affections  rest  supremely 
on  the  creatures  of  God.  Both  these  conditions  of  the 
mind  an  enlightened  conscience  would  check  and  re- 
prove. But  where  it  does  not,  there  it  is  blind,  and 
voluntarily  blind,  because  God  has  thrown  around  us 
light  sufficient  to  guide  our  steps.  The  conscience  is 
feeble,  when,  with  what  light  we  do  possess,  it  cannot 
restrain  the  selfish  desires,  and  the  idolatrous  affec- 
tions, from  controlling  the  conduct,  and  forming  the 
character. 

This  description  embraces  two  great  classes.  It  in- 
cludes, first,  the  creature  of  passion.  When  he  does 
any  thing,  it  is  because  he  feels  a strong  impulse  to  do 
it ; consequently,  that  which  ought  to  stand  eagle-eyed 
between  the  will,  and  every  impulse  excited  by  exter- 
nal objects,  is  either  blind,  or  dumb  and  powerless.  It 
either  sees  no  wrong,  or  is  weary  of  speaking  the  lan- 
guage of  remonstrance,  or  it  is  no  longer  the  balancing 
power,  determining  which  impulse  shall  prevail,  and 
which  shall  not. 

This  description  includes  also  the  man  of  earthly 
affections.  He  may  be  benevolent,  and  just,  and  true 
to  man,  because  these  are  either,  to  a certain  extent 
constitutional  propensities,  like  hunger  and  thirst,  or 
are  adopted  as  adapted  to  promote  temporal  happiness. 
He  cannot  see,  that  he  is  selfish  ; for  he  is  kind,  up- 
right, and  faithful.  But  he  may  easily  see  that  he  is 
ungodly ; by  which  is  meant,  that  his  affections  em- 
brace not  God.  He  is  just,  but  not  towards  the  Creator, 


70 


SERMON  III. 


whom  he  thus  defrauds  of  his  affections  and  of  all  his 
powers  ; affectionate,  but  not  towards  God  ; grateful, 
but  not  to  the  Man  of  Calvary, — the  God  incarnate. 
This  is  moral  derangement,  and  it  must  be  rectified.  It 
should  be  commenced  immediately,  under  the  gracious 
influence  of  that  Spirit,  who  now  comes  forth  from  the 
mediatorial  Prince  of  Life,  to  raise  and  restore  ruined 
man.  The  affections  must  embrace  God  supremely 
in  their  wide  scope.  “ Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  soul,  mind,  and  strength.” 
To  him  we  must  be  reconciled  in  Christ,  and  of  him 
obtain  forgiveness.  Conscience  must  become  the  direc- 
tor of  actions  and  of  volitions,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  word  of  Christ.  Those  pernicious 
habits  of  sensuality,  which  many  have  formed, — those 
habits  of  self-will,  which  all  have  formed, — those  habits 
of  speaking  and  acting  from  passion,  impulse,  or  desire, 
regardless  of  the  moral  right  or  wrong,  must  all  be 
changed.  From  the  pride,  which  originates  in  selfish- 
ness, and  is  sustained  by  moral  blindness,  you  must 
come  to  a perpetual  abiding  in  that  holy  and  glorious 
presence  which  bows  to  heaven’s  pavement  the  tallest 
angels.  From  all  that  groveling  absorption  in  the 
things  of  a probationary  state,  which  were  meant,  not 
for  the  perfection  of  the  soul  in  love,  but  for  its  disci- 
pline in  penitence,  and  humility,  and  self-government, 
you  must  set  your  affections  on  things  above,  where 
Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  In  a word, 
you  must  undertake  the  training  of  a blessed  spirit  for 
the  society  and  bliss  of  those,  who  “ have  washed  their 
robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.’5 
We  propose, 

2.  The  Work  of  Philanthropy  ; — doing  of  good  to 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  71 

the  extent  of  your  power.  Who  is  the  greatest  man 
that  ever  lived  ? I speak  of  any  that  may  be,  or  that 
was  designed,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  to  be  a model 
for  the  race.  It  is  blasphemy  to  rank,  in  true  moral 
greatness, — that  greatness  which  is  the  legitimate  ob- 
ject of  human  ambition, — any  above  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
Say  not  that  he  is  too  far  removed  to  be  our  model. 
As  a man,  he  was  but  ?i  man,  a perfect  man,  made  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  ; and  the  direction  to  us  is, 
— “ Let  this  mind  be  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ 
Jesus.”  True  greatness,  as  exhibited  by  him,  is  to 
live,  and  consecrate  the  time  and  powers  to  higher 
objects  than  such  as  men  generally  pursue ; and,  in  the 
pursuit  of  those  objects,  to  pass  by  the  indulgence  of 
the  desires  and  feelings,  which  constitute  the  happiness 
of  most  men.  It  was  a fine  specimen  of  the  moral  sub- 
lime, when  Jesus  sat  weary  and  hungry  at  the  well  of 
Jacob,  and  said,  “ My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me.”  It  was  spoken,  in  view  of  the  ignorant 
and  perishing  souls  then  flocking  to  him  from  the  city. 
It  should  never  have  been,  for  one  moment,  a question 
with  any  human  being,  whether  or  not  there  is,  truly, 
any  greater  object  for  which  we  can  live,  than  that  for 
which  he  lived.  The  only  point,  which  it  might  have 
seemed  presumption  to  believe,  is,  that  we  are  permitted 
to  engage  in  the  same  lofty  enterprise  ; that  it  is  not 
enough  for  heaven’s  mercy  to  call  us  to  pardon,  and 
peace,  and  the  hope  of  heaven  ; but  even  to  the  very 
work,  which  tasked  all  the  human  energies  of  the  Re- 
deemer, and  which  illustrated  all  his  Divine  perfections. 
Yes,  my  young  friends  ! you  are  called  to  become  phi- 
lanthropists. The  sound  of  the  trumpet  is  heard  on 
high,  — {To  arms  ! To  arms  V — but  it  comes  from  the 


72 


SERMON  III. 


Captain  of  Salvation,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  It  is  to  a 
bloodless  field — to  contend  “ not  with  flesh  and  blood, 
but  with  principalities  and  powers,  and  spiritual  wick- 
edness in  high  places.”  The  rider  on  the  “ White 
Horse”  goes  not  forth  alone  against  the  enemies  of  God 
and  man.  The  victors,  who  are  yet  to  walk  in  the 
triumphal  procession,  with  palm  leaves  in  their  hands, 
are  “ the  dwellers  on  the  earth ;”  some,  doubtless,  of 
them  before  me.  Their  weapons  are  the  weapons  of 
light,  wielded  in  the  cause  of  God  and  humanity.  But 
what  are  the  objects  of  this  moral  warfare  ? They  are 
— to  deliver  the  prey  from  the  spoiler,  to  burst  open 
the  prison  doors,  and  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives. You  are  called  to  sigh  and  weep  in  the  spirit 
of  a Howard, — nay,  the  spirit  of  Howard’s  Savior — 
over  the  degradation,  and  wide-spread  misery,  of  a race, 
which  has  apostatized  from  God,  in  its  affections,  and 
its  allegiance. 

We  propose  to  you  to  become  great  men  in  the  sight 
of  God,  of  angels,  and  of  the  good  on  earth.  And, 
if  we  have  observed  aright,  it  is  hastening  to  this, — 
that  the  standard  of  greatness  is  undergoing  a change  ; 
that  to  be  a great  man,  in  the  estimation  even  of  the 
world,  will  require,  that  he,  to  whom  the  distinction  is 
awarded,  shall  exercise  the  moral  and  benevolent  feel- 
ings, and  not  the  selfish  feelings,  as  his  great  impelling 
power ; that  his  theatre  shall  be  the  scenes  of  actual 
wretchedness  and  moral  degradation  ; that  in  his  track 
shall  be  found  the  ignorant  enlightened,  the  captive 
exulting  in  his  freedom,  the  heart  of  the  orphan  glad- 
dened, the  cause  of  justice  and  truth  established, 
the  glory  of  God  promoted.  Oh  ! if  you  desire  fame, 
let  it  be  the  fame  of  leaving  the  human  family  better 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  73 

and  happier  than  you  found  it ; if  your  ear  must  drink 
in  praise,  let  it  he  the  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready 
to  perish  ; let  your  monuments  be  the  rich  garden 
spots  of  moral  beauty  and  fruitfulness,  reclaimed  from 
the  waste  wilderness.  Help  to  increase  the  facilities 
for  educating  the  mind  of  man — to  improve  the  modes 
of  educating — to  spread  these  facilities,  till  they  have 
benefited  every  member  of  the  vast  brotherhood  of  man. 
Let  your  party  in  politics  be  the  great  party  whose  aim 
is  to  have  all  men,  under  every  government  and  any 
administration,  govern  themselves  by  the  laws  of  God. 
Let  every  moral  reformation  receive  from  your  hand 
an  impulse  and  a happy  guidance,  which,  but  for  you 
it  would  never  have  received.  Lift,  on  these  shores 
of  the  great  ocean  of  life,  more  of  these  moral  light- 
houses, which  shall  save  from  temporal  and  eternal 
destruction  the  souls  of  men.  Let  a light  be  kindled, 
that  shall  continue  to  burn  when  you  are  dead.  If  it 
is  the  light  of  truth,  others  will  tend  it,  and  trim  it,  and 
feed  it.  It  will  continue  to  burn  with  increasing 
strength  and  clearness,  scattering  from  a wider  and  yet 
wider  region  the  midnight  darkness  ; enlightening  and 
cheering  man  on  his  way  to  eternity,  even  to  the  day, 
when  the  sun  shall  be  blotted  out ; and  then  it  will 
still  burn  and  mingle  its  rays  with  the  glories  of  the 
celestial  city.  Young  men ! I speak  to  you,  because 
all  this  glory  may  be  yours.  Yes,  under  the  merciful 
administration  of  Jesus  Christ,  you  may  become  both 
good  and  great. 

But,  if  we  should  succeed  to  stir  up  any  strong  de- 
sires in  your  minds,  let  us  not  leave  you  deceived  by  a 
false  inference,  that  all  this  is  reached  by  an  impulse, 
a wish,  and  a resolution.  To  attain  the  high  character 
7 


74 


SERMON  III. 


of  a pf&ctical,  efficient  philanthropist,  requires  much 
persofr^^ultivation,  much  well-digested  knowledge 
and  experience  ; and  that  these  should  be  but  qualifica- 
tions, not  substitutes,  for  activity.  And,  with  the 
greater  part,  these  attainments  are  to  be  the  reward  of 
efforts  almost  unaided  by  man.  One  child  in  ten  thou- 
sand is  blessed  with  a happy  education.  A mother,  or, 
as  by  a miracle,  some  competent  substitute,  has  watched 
over  the  first  developement  and  expansion  of  the  powers. 
The  understanding  has  been  rightly  disciplined  and 
well-informed  ; the  exuberant  feelings  have  been  chas- 
tened ; the  finer  sensibilities  cultivated ; the  soul  formed 
to  manliness,  to  piety,  and  practical  wisdom.  Oh  ! 
these  instances  are  rare.  Most  of  the  good,  who  have 
adorned  the  world,  and  of  the  truly  great,  who  have 
blessed  it,  have,  under  heaven’s  favor,  made  themselves. 
They  have  grappled  with  the  evil  habits  of  youth  ; 
they  have  struggled  against  the  influence  of  evil  com- 
panions, and  of  a depraved  public  sentiment ; they 
have  feared,  and  wept,  and  prayed,  and  studied  under 
discouragements,  which,  contemplated  in  the  mass, 
would  have  appalled  them.  All  this  we  know.  And 
yet,  with  all  this  in  view,  we  urge  you  to  become  good 
and  great  men.  This  will  require  you  to  become  truly 
pious  men.  This  is  the  first  element  of  true  greatness ; 
because  it  is  the  only  state  in  which  the  moral  powers 
are  rightly  exercised.  Sin  is  the  only  truly  despicable 
object  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  piety  is  its  antagonist 
and  opposite  principle.  All  other  greatness  only  re- 
moves you  the  farther  from  God’s  esteem,  and  the 
respect  of  angels.  It  only  lifts  you  higher,  that  you 
may  sink  the  deeper  in  eternal  disgrace.  Shun  that 
false  and  phantom-greatness  which  lures  you  to  eternal 


OBL  IGAT  IONS*  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  75 

ruin.  He  is  not  a great  man,  who  depends  on  any 
thing  physical,  or  any  thing  external  for  his  greatness. 
Greatness  is  not  in  reputation,  but  in  character.  He  is 
not  truly  great,  who  does  not  meet  the  obligations, 
which  arise  from  all  his  relations,  and  chiefly  those  to 
God.  That  is  not  greatness,  which  will  not  make  one 
illustrious  at  the  judgment  day,  and  respected  in  heaven. 
He  is  not  a great  man,  who  does  not  enjoy  the  blessing 
of  God.  Moses  was  truly  great.  Select  one  exhibition 
of  it.  When  the  cloud  of  God’s  wrath  was  gathered 
over  the  guilty  children  of  Israel,  it  was  not  learning, 
nor  military  talents,  nor  political  sagacity,  that  could 
save  them  ; it  was  prayer.  This  is  power,  and  Moses 
possessed  it.  This  is  greatness,  and  Moses  possessed  it. 

Young  men  ! become  men  of  prayer.  The  eternal 
and  wise  God  changed  the  name  of  Jacob  to  that  of 
Prince  of  God.  Why  ? Because  he  had  native  mental 
power,  or  great  intellectual  acquirements  ? No ; but 
because  he  had  power  with  man,  and  power  to  prevail 
with  God  in  prayer.  Ah  ! that  is  the  highest  style  of 
eloquence,  which  persuades  God.  Get  it,  young  men  ! 
in  the  school  of  Christ ; get  it,  as  patriots,  for  your 
country’s  sake ; get  it,  as  reformers  of  a sinful  world. 
It  is  idle  to  look  or  labor  for  the  renovation  of  the 
frame-work  of  society,  unless  you  renovate  the  hearts 
of  men  ; and  it  is  vain  to  hope  for  that,  without  the  aid 
of  God’s  Holy  Spirit.  And  his  influences  will  be  sent 
upon  others,  in  answer  to  our  prayers.  Be  men  of 
prayer.  It  is  the  best  attainment  of  a patriot,  and  of  a 
philanthropist.  And  to  attempt  the  radical  renovation 
of  society,  independently  of  the  agency  of  God’s  Spirit, 
which  he  has  promised  to  give  in  answer  to  prayer,  is 
moral  quackery. 


76 


SERMON  III. 


To  be  useful  requires  a cultivated  mind.  This 
consists  in  two  things  ; — the  proper  discipline  of  the 
mental  faculties,  and  a knowledge  of  man,  of  the  phy- 
sical world  which  surrounds  him,  and  of  the  God  in 
whom  he  lives  and  moves.  To  be  an  efficient  philan- 
thropist you  must  be  possessed  of  a well-cultivated 
mind.  We  propose  no  royal  road  to  this  eminence. 
The  men,  who  have  reached  it,  have  toiled  and  fainted, 
and  again  toiled,  and  again  been  discouraged.  They, 
that  reap  in  great  joy,  and  bear  home  their  sheaves 
with  shouting  from  this  field,  are  they,  who  carried 
forth  their  precious  seed  and  scattered  it  with  tears, 
Yes,  the  great  Philanthropist  himself  was  not  exempt 
from  this  universal  law.  Gethsemane  and  Cal  vary  lifted 
their  terrific  barriers  between  him  and  the  end  of  his 
labors.  To  be  philanthropists  you  must  become  stu- 
dents. No  branch  of  knowledge  will  be  oat  of  place/ 
while  some  will  be  more  important  than  others.  Neither 
the  time  nor  the  occasion  allow  an  enumeration  of 
those  processes  of  mental  discipline,  and  those  branches 
of  knowledge,  which  you  may  profitably  pursue  for  this 
great  purpose.  It  may  suffice  to  say  that  the  intel- 
lectual faculties  which  you  should  train,  and  the  habits 
which  you  should  form,  are — reflection — attention — 
arrangement  of  facts  under  principles — activity — judg- 
ment. If  I should  recommend  any  books  to  those  who 
wish  to  commence,  they  would  be  Dr.  Abercrombie’s 
two  little  works  on  the  intellectual  and  moral  faculties. 

But,  besides  mental  strength  and  correct  intellectual 
and  moral  habits,  you  must  be  acquainted  with  facts 
and  principles. 

God  is  the  first  great  object  of  knowledge.  You  are 
his  and  in  his  world.  Apostacy  from  him  is  man’s  misery 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


77 


— reconciliation  to  him  the  only  happiness.  The  Bible 
is,  therefore,  the  first  book  in  a human  library ; because, 
on  each  of  these  points,  it  throws  a light  which  no 
other  can  furnish.  There  never  was,  in  modem  days, 
a great  efficient  public  philanthropist,  who  achieved 
much  for  the  moral  renovation  of  mankind,  whose  prin- 
ciples were  not  formed  by  the  Bible. 

As  you  are  to  operate  upon  man,  you  cannot  know 
him  too  intimately.  Your  sources  of  knowledge  are 
the  Bible,  Observation,  Introspection,  and  History. 

Physical  science  should  be  one  branch  of  your 
studies.  We  recommend  a cultivated  taste  ; — -the  habit 
of  writing,  speaking,  and  conversing  properly  and  im- 
pressively. You  should  obtain  right  views  of  the 
object  of  our  position  in  this  world,  and  of  the  true 
value  of  time,  property,  and  every  other  means  of 
influence. 

It  requires,  finally,  a well-balanced  mind.  By  which 
is  meant,  one  that  is  neither  indolent,  nor  idly  active, 
nor  injuriously  active  ; — one  that  is  neither  insensible 
to  the  sufferings  of  man,  nor  so  sensitive  as  to  be  un- 
fitted for  action,  nor  yet  driven  to  act  blindly  and  inju- 
diciously ; — one  that  is  not  wavering  on  great  practical 
principles,  nor  yet  rash  in  forming  a judgment  and 
obstinate  in  maintaining  it ; but  one  that  looks  calmly 
at  a subject  on  every  side,  under  a solemn  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility to  posterity  and  to  God,  and  then  dares  to 
believe  what  is  true,  and  to  proclaim  it  on  every  suit- 
able occasion  ; — one  that  is  willing  to  hear  counsel,  to 
profit  by  advice,  and  yet  fearless  of  personal  conse- 
quences, if  the  cause  of  truth  and  human  happiness 
requires  sacrifice.  We  may  not  now  illustrate  each 
of  these  ; but  we  may  take  one,  and  expand  it  a little. 

7* 


78 


SERMON  III. 


That  independence,  which  you  must  acquire,  in  order 
that  you  may  become  an  efficient  benefactor  to  your 
race,  has  been  impressively  exhibited  by  many,  who 
have  gone  before  you  in  this  noble  career.  That  the 
condition  of  the  human  race  is  improving,  on  the 
whole,  is  evident.  There  is  an  advance  in  parts  of  the 
world,  in  science,  and  in  the  arts  which  make  matter 
subservient  to  mind,  in  morals,  in  religious  science,  in 
jurisprudence,  and  in  the  international  law.  For  all 
these  advances,  we  are  indebted  to  the  divine  mercy. 
But  the  instruments,  which  God  was  pleased  to  employ, 
were  men,  who  had  by  much  cultivation  become  fitted 
for  their  sphere,  and  then,  with  singular  firmness  and 
independence,  moved  forward  in  the  work  of  reform- 
ation. 

Polytheism  was  the  national,  the  court- religion  ot 
Greece,  Rome,  Egypt,  and  Persia.  Some  bold  spirits 
must  have  dared  to  investigate  whether  public  sentiment 
was  right  on  this  point.  And,  after  investigating,  some- 
thing more  was  required.  There  must  have  been  a 
wise  selection  of  the  modes  of  publishing  the  truth, 
and  of  opposing  the  popular  error.  Yes,  and  there 
must  have  been  an  utter  abandonment  of  the  public 
favor,  ti  exposure  even  of  life,  which  none  but  an  ele- 
vated mind  will  considerately  incur,  in  view  of  a great 
object  of  public  welfare.  Need  I mention,  as  high  on 
this  list,  Isaiah,  the  sublime  reprover  of  idolatry,  and 
all  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  who  were  stoned, 
burned,  and  sawn  asunder  ? To  them  and  to  their 
firmness  are  we  indebted  for  our  conceptions  of  the 
unity  of  God.  and  of  the  infinite  majesty  and  glory  of 
his  name. 

Judaism  was  the  state-religion  which  opposed  the 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


79 


introduction  of  Christianity.  We  inherit  the  latter  as 
our  lichest  legacy  ; but  it  cost  other  blood  besides  that 
of  its  great  Author.  Read  the  lives  of  its  first  preachers 
and  professors,  for  an  illustration  of  that  decision  and 
independence,  which  is  demanded  of  the  benefactors 
of  our  race.  To  whom  are  we  indebted  for  the  benefits 
of  the  Reformation  ; and  to  what  traits  in  the  characters 
of  the  Reformers  ? 

You  might  find  even  in  the  history  of  physical  sci- 
ence specimens  of  the  same.  Such  was  Copernicus, 
whose  knowledge  and  boldness  called  the  wrath  of  the 
inquisitorial  fathers  upon  him. 

We  have  thus  urged  you,  not  merely  to  become  great 
men,  but. — that  which  needs  a more  powerful  stimu- 
lus,— to  go  through  the  severe  process  of  preparation 
for  it.  Were  we  thus  to  urge  little  children,  our  argu- 
ment and  appeal  would  fail  alike  of  being  understood 
and  felt.  And  so  with  men  in  the  maturity  of  life,  fixed 
in  the  inflexibility  of  their  intellectual  and  moral  habits. 
But  I have  spoken  “ unto  you,  young  men ! because 
ye  are  strong.”  And  it  now  remains,  after  this  exhi- 
bition of  the  great  objects,  to  which  your  mental  strength 
must  be  directed,  to  observe, 

II.  That  Youth  is  the  'period  of  life  in  which  the 
pursuit  of  these  objects  must  be  commenced . 

1.  Youth  has  its  peculiar  advantages  for  the  form- 
ation of  character.  The  periods  of  human  life  may 
be  variously  divided,  for  various  purposes.  The  body 
runs  through  the  seasons  of  helplessness  and  spright- 
liness, vigor  and  decrepitude.  The  intellect  has  some- 
times two  periods,  generally  three.  The  mind  is  at 
first  shut  up ; it  then  expands ; and,  if  neglected,  it 
runs  back  again  to  imbecility.  But,  if  rightly  treated, 


80 


SE  RMON  III. 


the  mind  would  lift  its  pinions,  with  growing  strength, 
until  the  moral  coil  is  dropped.  Except  in  cases  of 
disease,  its  vigor  would  remain  unimpaired,  if  not  neg- 
lected. In  respect,  therefore,  to  intellectual  improve- 
ment, youth  is  the  important  time  of  forming  those 
habits,  which  cannot  afterwards  be  formed,  when  the 
active  duties  of  life  rush  upon  man  to  the  extent  of  a 
total  absorption  of  time  and  thought. 

But  this  sentiment  is  most  emphatically  true,  as  we 
observe  the  peculiarity  of  man’s  moral  structure.  With 
regard  to  character,  infancy  is  the  period  of  mental  tor- 
por. Then  comes  the  season  of  childhood,  when  pro- 
pensities are  first  developed ; when  the  imitative  power 
is  brought  into  exercise,  but  the  conscience  is  feeble, 
and  its  discernment  of  right  and  wrong  exceedingly 
limited.  Now  the  habits  of  animal  indulgence  are 
formed,  without  scarcely  an  understanding  that  man 
must  live  for  higher  ends.  Now  the  habits  of  lying, 
fraud,  pilfering,  meanness,  are  formed,  with  scarcely  a 
whisper  from  the  inward  monitor,  and  with  almost  no 
conception  of  a holy  and  all-seeing  Judge,  and  a future 
retribution.  Such,  as  matters  of  fact,  are  the  disadvan- 
tages, under  which  man  commences  the  formation  of 
character  ; even  at  the  very  period  when  the  lowest 
propensities  have  the  strongest  play,  and  when  his 
own  moral  checks  are  the  feeblest.  Not  that  children 
have  no  conscience.  Not  that  they  are  incapable  of 
feeling  the  generous  impulses  of  gratitude  and  sympa- 
thy. But  this  is  emphatically  the  period,  when  they 
must  be  governed  and  instructed  by  others.  The 
plastic  hand  of  education  must  now  do  for  them  what 
nature  has  not  done,  and  what  they  cannot  do  for  them- 
selves. But  we  pass  from  childhood  to  the  third  stage 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  81 

of  man’s  moral  history.  Here  he  appears  with  his  pro- 
pensities to  animal  gratification — the  strongest  mental 
bias ; his  imagination  the  wildest,  and  yet  most  com- 
manding intellectual  faculty.  But  with  all  this,  he  has 
some  experience  of  the  evils  of  transgression  ; the  sense 
of  right  and  wrong  has  become  formed.  He  is  now 
capable  of  choosing  his  gratifications,  in  view  of  all 
the  relations  he  sustains  to  God  and  man  in  time  and 
eternity,  of  his  obligations,  and  of  the  consequences 
to  himself  and  others.  The  appetites  and  passions 
are  strong ; but  they  have  not  the  fearful  strength  of 
habit  long-matured.  Evil  examples  are  powerful. 
But  conscience,  as  it  were  new-born,  is  vigorous  and 
powerful  too.  Resolution  is  a power,  which  has  not 
yet  been  overcome,  and  it  lives  enwrapped  in  its  giant 
strength  within  the  youthful  bosom.  The  sense  of 
shame  is  a powerful  barrier  against  vice.  The  finer 
feelings  of  the  heart,  not  yet  rendered  callous,  plead 
against  it.  Here  is  the  interesting  period  of  youth. 
The  child  was  the  creature  of  impulse,  of  sympathy, 
of  imitation,  of  stubbornness  perhaps,  but  not  of  deci- 
sion. This  has  exceptions  ; yet  it  is  generally  true. 
But  now  appears  the  youth  on  the  stage  of  probation, 
ushered  amid  scenes  and  companions,  whose  moral 
bearings  he  just  begins  to  comprehend.  To  him  the 
task  is  committed,  to  form  in  a few  short  years  the 
character  of  one  man  for  life,  and  deeply  to  affect  the 
destinies  of  a multitude  more.  That  season  passes. 
He  goes  on  from  the  age  of  twenty-five  to  that  of 
thirty  years  ; and  it  is  generally  then  determined  what 
character  he  will  bear  through  life,  and  in  what  sphere 
of  moral  influence  he  will  move.  If  he  has  yielded  to 
sensual  desires,  to  meanness,  to  fraud,  sordid  gratifi 


82 


SERMON 


III. 


cation  ; if  he  has  stooped  from  the  lofty  aspirings  after 
holiness  and  immortal  glory  from  the  hands  of  his 
Redeemer  ; he  has  become  weak  in  the  chains  of  a 
self-imposed  slavery.  And  every  fitful  struggle  only 
proves  their  iron-strength.  It  was  evidently  this 
moral  strength  to  which  the  Apostle  alluded,  for  he 
says, — “ Ye  are  strong,  and  have  overcome  the  wick- 
ed one.”  Here  was  the  proof  of  their  strength ; that 
with  the  moral  energy,  imparted  by  grace,  they  had 
overcome  the  great  enemy,  in  whom  is  concentrated 
all  moral  evil.  Young  men ! ye  are  strong  to  effect 
this  great  object  committed  to  man, — the  formation  of 
character  ; — strong  to  grapple  with  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual foes,  that  shoot  with  the  arrows  of  contempt,  or 
the  deadlier  weapons  of  flattery  ; that  decoy  where 
they  cannot  beat  down. 

2.  Youth  is  the  most  favorable  season  to  commence 
the  'preparation  for  a life  of  elevated  philanthropy. 

Imagine  this  entire  assembly  to  be  aroused  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  in  view  of  the  importance  of  this  subject, 
to  an  intense  desire  to  commence  the  formation  of  those 
habits,  and  the  acquisition  of  those  attainments,  which 
should  fit  them  to  become  extensively  the  benefactors 
of  the  world.  The  desire  might  bum  like  an  inward 
fire.  But  what  will  it  avail  yonder  aged  man  ? He 
may  sigh  over  the  mistakes  and  moral  blindness  of  his 
youth,  over  time  and  faculties  wasted,  over  a life  al- 
most spent,  and  its  greatest  object  left  unaccomplished. 
It  may  prostrate  his  soul  in  penitence  and  contrition 
before  God.  And  he  may  say,  with  soul-thrilling  elo- 
quence,— “ Young  men!  ye,  ye  are  strong:  but  with 
me  it  is  too  late.  Yours  is  the  fire,  and  fervor,  and 
force  ; — yours,  the  facility  for  forming  new  habits, 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


83 


which  mark  you  as  the  favored  objects  of  these  appeals. 
My  summer  is  past,  my  harvest  is  ended.’ — 

Yours,  young  men  ! is  more  than  this  ; your  very 
position  in  society  is  that  of  strength.  The  wicked  one 
is  contending  for  the  mastery  with  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
The  embattled  hosts  are  on  the  field.  The  cruel  regi- 
ments of  Infidelity,  Intemperance,  Gambling,  Licen- 
tiousness, are  all,  under  their  great  leader,  pressing  their 
terrific  conquests  over  human  virtue  and  happiness. 
But  it  is  with  the  young  men  of  this  generation  to  de- 
termine the  condition  of  the  war  to  the  end  of  time. 
Your  individual  character  and  influence  could  do 
much.  But  what  could  not  your  united  influence  ac- 
complish ? Let  the  young  men  desert  the  standards 
of  Infidelity,  Intemperance,  Gambling,  Profaneness, 
Sabbath-desecration,  and  Uncleanness  ; and  who  will 
ift  their  banners  of  blood  again,  when  the  old  drunk- 
ards and  debauchees,  and  gospel-despisers  have  passed 
away?  Yours  is  the  strength  to  beat  down,  in  the 
present  generation,  the  enemies  of  God  and  man,  and  to 
keep  them  low  in,  at  least  the  next.  Yours  it  might  be 
to  train,  under  yet  better  auspices,  a still  more  efficient 
army  for  the  Prince  Immanuel.  And  although  the 
little  band,  here  collected,  cannot  do  what  belongs  to 
the  entire  body  of  youth,  yet  the  work  must,  at  some 
time  begin  somewhere,  that  every  word,  which  the 
Lord  hath  spoken,  may  be  established. 

But,  methinks,  I hear  the  tones  of  despondency ; — 
u The  speaker  forgets  his  commission  ; many,  with 
whom  and  for  whom  he  came  to  plead,  enjoy  but  limit- 
ed opportunities  for  mental  cultivation.  But  here  is  a 
path  stricken  out,  which  requires  all  the  time  and  all 
the  opportunities  afforded  by  a liberal  education.  He 


84 


SERMON  III. 


has  surely  forgotten  the  merchant’s  and  mechanic’s  ap- 
prentice ?” — No,  young  man  ! I have  spoken  thus  even 
unto  you  ; because,  with  all  the  disadvantages  of  your 
situation  for  mental  cultivation,  you  are  strong.  And, 
to  strike  a decisive  blow  at  your  discouragements,  I 
would  lay  down  the  broad  proposition,  that  there  is  no 
situation  or  employment,  in  which  it  is  proper  for  a 
young  man  to  be,  in  which  he  may  not  become  a good 
and  a great  man.  You  must  breathe-in  the  gospel- 
principle,  that  it  is  neither  family,  nor  property,  nor 
profession,  which  forms  real  character,  merit,  or  re- 
spectability. Look  not  for  honor  to  your  profession, 
but  to  your  character.  With  regard  to  the  formation 
of  a religious  and  moral  character,  surely  you  can  com- 
plain of  no  special  disadvantages.  It  is,  then,  the  in- 
tellectual part  of  the  training  for  which  you  think  you 
have  not  time  and  opportunity.  I admit  that  there  are 
four  particulars  in  which  the  liberally-educated  has  the 
advantage. 

I.  In  the  amount  of  time  which  he  can  devote  to 
mental  improvement.  And  yet  there  are  some  com- 
pensating circumstances,  which  you,  perhaps,  overlook. 
It  is  demonstrated  beyond  dispute  from  physiological 
science  and  observation,  that  muscular  exercise,  such 
as  agreeably  employs  the  mind,  is  indispensable  to  the 
best  cultivation  of  the  entire  man.  Some  of  the  first 
young  men  of  America  have  utterly  disqualified  them- 
selves for  usefulness,  by  a disproportioned  exercise  of 
the  mind.  And  besides,  if  you  are  truly  aroused  to  take 
firm  hold  on  this  great  enterprise  of  self-improvement, 
the  probability  is,  that  those  hours,  which  you  can  de- 
vote to  it,  will  be  so  much  more  profitably  spent,  that 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  85 

you  will  accomplish  more  real  study,  than  is  done  by 
the  majority  of  college-students. 

It  is  not  the  enrolment  on  the  catalogue  of  a univer- 
sity, nor  the  residence  within  college- walls,  nor  the 
listening  to  professors’  lectures,  that  makes  the  man. 
It  depends,  at  last,  on  his  own  efforts,  how  much  he  is 
benefitted.  If,  with  a faithful  attention  to  those  interests 
of  your  employer  with  which  you  are  intrusted,  and 
due  attention  to  the  particular  branch  of  business  which 
you  are  learning,  there  are  combined  the  habits  of  scru- 
pulously saving  time,  of  guarding  the  mind  against 
every  thing  which  interferes  with  its  improvement,  of 
conquering  difficulties,  of  persevering  in  the  midst  of 
discouragements,  and  of  still  keeping  the  eye  on  a high 
mark,  when  all  the  circumstances  in  which  you  are 
placed  are  depressing  ; you  have  a moral  training 
for  philanthropic  effort  that  is  invaluable.  You  com- 
plain of  the  want  of  time.  Where  did  Benjamin 
Franklin  find  it  to  form  in  his  printing-office  the  phi- 
losopher and  the  statesman  1 Had  we  more  Franklins 
in  the  shops,  we  should  have  more  in  the  senate-cham- 
ber. The  living  names  of  great  and  good  men,  who 
have  surmounted  the  same  difficulties,  are  very  numer- 
ous. Economy  of  time  and  system  would  accomplish 
for  you  what  might  now  seem  wonders. 

Another  of  your  disadvantages  is, 

2.  The  want  of  that  collision  of  mind:  which  Schools 
and  Colleges  afford.  This  is  a real  difficulty,  and  we 
will  not  look  to  you  to  remove  it ; but,  I trust,  the  day 
is  not  far  distant,  when  your  fellow-citizens  will  see 
this  subject  in  a true  light,  and  assist  you  in  the  form- 
ation of  such  Societies  for  discussion  and  composition, 
as  will  greatly  advance  the  development  of  your  mental 
8 


86 


SERMON  III. 


powers.  And  yet,  to  show  you  what  can  be  done 
among  yourselves,  with  a little  assistance  from  others, 
I refer  you  to  the  account  of  the  Gas-Light  Company 
of  Glasgow,  as  stated  in  the  Penny  Magazine,  vol.  xi, 
p.  60,  American  edition. 

3.  You  are  in  want  of  Professors  or  Teachers.  I 
can  only  say  now, — bend  down,  dear  youth  ! with  all 
the  energies  of  your  soul,  to  intellectual  and  moral  im- 
provement ; we  will  hail  your  advances,  and  welcome 
you  as  brothers.  We  will  do  more.  I can  almost 
pledge  this  community  to  furnish  you  with  lectures, 
and  with  courses  of  instruction.  Your  evenings  may 
be  divided  between  the  public  worship  of  your  God, 
private  study,  and  the  public  lecture.  You  shall  have 
higher  attractions  than  the  theatre,  ball-room,  or 
gambling-house  can  offer. 

4.  And  the  remaining  difficulty  is  the  want  of  books. 
Is  that  so?  In  this  community  are  there  youthful 
minds,  panting  for  knowledge,  who  cannot  reach  its 
precious  fountain ; and  this,  for  the  want  of  a little  of 
the  property,  which  God  has  so  liberally  bestowed  upon 
us  ? No,  young  friends ! this  will  not  be  the  case  long, 
after  this  community  shall  have  learned  your  necessi- 
ties. Your  cause  is  strong.  It  is  the  plea  of  want, 
laid  at  the  heart  of  patriotism  and  benevolence.  It  is 
not  a cry  for  bread.  It  is  the  mind,  struggling  through 
the  mists  of  mental  night,  panting  for  light,  thirsting 
for  the  living  waters  of  knowledge.  Not  many  words 
are  needed  in  presenting  your  claim  before  this  Chris- 
tian community.  They  feel  for  you,  for  their  country, 
for  posterity,  for  the  honor  of  their  city.  It  shall  not  be 
said,  that  the  claim  of  an  Institution,  formed  for  your  in- 
tellectual and  moral  improvement,  was  presented  in  vain. 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  87 

In  closing  my  remarks,  I turn  again  to  you,  young 
men  ! I have  presented  but  one  side  of  the  subject. 
You  are  strong  not  only  for  good,  but  also  for  evil. 
You  are  strong  constitutionally.  But  the  greater  your 
strength,  the  more  critical  your  situation.  Your  vigor 
is  but  like  steam  in  navigation,  the  impelling  power ; 
it  is  not  the  helm.  If  you  abandon  yourself  to  blind 
impulse,  remember  that  life’s  stream  is  winding ; re- 
member, how  thickly  it  is  underlaid  with  rocks  and 
shoals.  In  coming  up  the  Thames,  they  do  not  trust 
even  an  experienced  master,  but  must  employ  a pilot 
who  has  studied  every  inch  of  the  river.  And  dare 
you  venture  on  the  stream  of  time,  without  an  enlight- 
ened conscience  for  your  pilot?  If  your  helm  be  not 
vigilantly  and  strongly  commanded  by  this  only  skilful, 
faithful  guide,  you  must  inevitably  be  wrecked.  You 
are  strong  to  undermine  the  pillars  of  social  order. 
You  may  live  yet  many  years,  doing  the  work  of 
death. 

There  are  two  parties  in  morals  in  this  community : 
on  the  one  side,  are  engaged  the  friends  of  public  virtue 
and  true  religion  ; on  the  other,  the  sustainers  of  vice, 
of  infidelity,  of  intemperance,  and  of  all  forms  of  evil. 
Where  shall  your  strength  be  enlisted  ? If  with  Virtue 
and  Godliness,  let  it  be  actively,  efficiently  employed. 
Who  dares  devote  the  peculiar  strength  of  youth  to 
selfish  purposes  of  any  kind  ? When  you  may  without 
extravagance  hope  to  become  public  benefactors,  is  it 
right  to  bury  your  powers  ? How  can  you  determine, 
in  becoming  a lawyer,  physician,  mechanic,  or  mer- 
chant, to  live  for  yourself?  Are  there  not  motives 
sufficiently  powerful  to  induce  you  to  live  for  the  good 
of  your  race  ? See  how  it  is  sunk  in  ignorance,  in  op- 


88 


SERMON  III. 


pression,  in  sin.  You  may  help  to  elevate  it.  Yes, 
you  may  help  to  purify  and  elevate  the  character  of 
this  whole  empire,  and  make  its  influence  yet  more 
powerful  and  beneficial  to  the  entire  world. 

You  live  in  a day  of  peculiar  promise  to  the  human 
race.  There  is  a waking  up  of  the  human  mind  from 
the  slumber  of  ages,  and  a startling  of  the  human  con- 
science from  its  long  torpor.  An  intense  curiosity  and 
earnest  anxiety  for  the  word  of  God,  are  now  heaving 
the  mass  of  the  pagan  mind.  The  heathen  are  calling 
to  the  sons  of  Britain  and  America,  to  become  cordial 
believers  in  that  gospel,  which  they  so  richly  enjoy,  to 
enlist  as  Missionaries,  and  to  herald  its  joyful  tidings 
to  their  waiting  crowds.  They  call  upon  our  educated 
youth,  to  enlist  all  their  genius  and  learning  in  order 
to  illustrate  the  science  of  God  and  salvation.  They 
call  upon  our  mechanics,  to  educate  themselves  to  go 
forth  as  the  pioneers  of  the  arts,  which  have  flowed  in 
the  wake  of  Christianity.  And  did  one  poor  fanatic, 
emerging  from  his  murky  cell,  once  rouse  the  chivalry 
of  Europe  to  pour  its  wealth,  its  talent,  its  nobility,  its 
royalty,  down  upon  the  infidel  Turk,  to  liberate  the 
holy  sepulchre  from  pollution?  And  have  not  we  a 
nobler  order  of  mind  to  address  and  move  ? — have  not 
we  a holier  crusade  to  commend  ? Did  kings  throw 
away  their  sceptres,  and  grasp  the  sword  to  carry  war, 
and  devastation,  and  death,  amidst  innocent  thousands, 
merely  to  gratify  a sentiment  of  superstition  ? And 
will  not  our  youth  be  ready  even  to  forsake  their  fire- 
sides, in  the  holier,  nobler  work,  of  bowing  the  heart 
of  man  to  the  sceptre  of  Christ  ? Look  at  the  minute 
steps  in  this  great  work.  The  preacher,  schoolmaster, 
physician,  farmer,  mechanic,  must  go  and  lead  their 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  89 

benighted  minds  to  Christ ; must  carry  them  the  press, 
educate  their  children,  form  new  habits,  and  reorganize 
the  structure  of  domestic  society. 

Now  all  this  range  of  thought  strikes  us  with  pecu- 
liar force,  when  we  remember,  that  there  are  no 
impediments  to  personal  improvement,  but  such  as 
indolence  presents.  Merit,  in  every  civilized  country, 
affords  an  acknowledged  claim  to  public  confidence, 
and  to  extensive  influence.  To  do  good  requires  no 
genealogical  table,  no  great  family-name.  Young 
men ! we  know  not  how  to  cease  our  importunity. 
Will  you  commence,  or  pursue  with  renewed  vigor, 
the  course  of  self-improvement  for  philanthropic  pur- 
poses ? We  want  you  to  become  truly  strong  men,  in 
knowledge,  in  intellectual  power,  in  moral  energy. 
We  want  you,  not  to  be  the  authors  of  ephemeral 
excitements  in  our  excitable  world,  but  to  impress 
deeply  on  the  human  mind  the  eternal  principles  of 
moral  and  religious  truth.  Take  the  Redeemer  of  men 
for  your  model.  Study  deeply  and  prayerfully  his 
character,  until  you  breathe  his  spirit.  Read  the 
biography  of  good  and  great  men.  Take,  as  a model 
of  judicious  perseverance,  Granville  Sharp.  Under 
what  one  has  called, — “ the  excitement  of  mercy,” — he 
was  led  to  protect  a slave  from  Barbadoes,  named  Jona- 
than Strong,  who  was  brought  to  England  by  his 
master,  and  becoming  sick,  was  left  to  perish  in  the 
streets.  After  he  had  recovered,  under  the  kind  atten- 
tions of  a brother  of  Sharp,  his  master  claimed  him 
as  his  slave.  This  aroused  the  noble  soul,  that  could 
feel  another’s  woes  as  keenly  as  his  own.  Sharp  im- 
mediately applied  himself  to  a new  study.  And  if 
every  man,  who  studies  law,  would  do  it  as  he  did,— 

8* 


90 


SERMON  III. 


to  become  an  able  philanthropist, — that  profession 
might  exert  an  influence  for  good,  which  cannot  be 
calculated.  He  examined  the  principles  of  the  British 
constitution  and  law,  to  see  whether  they  really  stood 
opposed  to  liberty  and  the  rights  of  man,  or  not.  The 
decisions  of  all  the  highest  courts  were  against  him. 
Here  then  he  determined  to  take  his  stand,  with  no 
other  weapon  than  truth.  He  opposed  the  ablest  and 
profoundest  jurist  England  ever  saw ; and  he  main- 
tained that  opposition,  until  he  overthrew  the  influence 
of  authoritative,  but  unjust  opinion,  and  finally  estab- 
lished the  glorious  truth,  that,  by  the  British  constitu- 
tion, every  human  being,  that  treads  on  British  soil, 
is  free.  Two  long  years  he  spent,  not  in  vaporing, 
and  denouncing,  and  frothy  declamation,  but  in  an 
intense  study  of  law.  He  then  consulted  the  most 
eminent  jurists,  and  wrote  several  tracts  to  enlighten 
the  public  mind,  and  prepare  the  way  for  his  attack. 
After  the  case  of  Strong  was  decided  in  favor  of  the 
master,  three  other  cases  were  tried,  each  one  of  which 
opened  the  way  for  Sharp  to  shake  the  prejudices, 
which,  like  spiders,  hung  their  dusty  cobweb-folds  even 
in  such  a king’s  palace  as  the  mind  of  Mansfield.  This 
great  man  at  last  yielded  to  Sharp’s  resistless  argument, 
and  came  out  and  settled  the  principle  for  ever.  Trace 
this  history  through,  to  admire  and  imitate  his  motives, 
his  persevering  and  painful  study.  Be  benefactors  of 
your  race  ; be  deep,  profound  thinkers.  See  the  array 
of  public  sentiment  against  him  ; and  see  the  triumph 
of  principle.  Behold  its  effects  now  in  the  West  Indies 
and  in  America.  The  first  of  August  stands  closely 
connected,  not  in  time,  but  as  effect  to  cause,  with  the 
efforts  of  that  noble  mind. 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


91 


Fellow  Christians  ! I take  this  occasion  to  commend 
to  you  the  interests  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Young  men’s  Society.  Its  objects  are  worthy  your 
ardent  affection.  They  are  comprehended  in  the  im- 
provement of  youthful  hearts  and  minds.  Anticipate 
what  they  may  be.  Perhaps  to-night  a strong  desire 
for  self-improvement  is  aroused,  but,  without  your  aid, 
aroused  in  vain.  To  what  nobler  object  can  you  de- 
vote hundreds  of  pounds  than  to  feed  those  minds,  and 
train  these  patriots  and  philanthropists  ? 


. 


? 


SERMON  IV. 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY. 


For  the  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  was  lost . Luke  xix.  10. 

The  meaning  of  that  word — lost , is  the  separating 
point,  from  which  diverge  the  most  important  senti- 
ments, that  divide  the  nominally  Christain  world.  It 
affects  essentially  all  our  religious  sentiments,  charac- 
ter, and  career.  If  one  sees  in  it  only  a flourish  of 
rhetoric,  or  an  oriental  exaggeration,  then  his  conscience 
slumbers ; then  his  sympathies  feel  no  deep  appeal 
from  man’s  condition  and  prospects ; and  then  his 
heart  lies  chilled  beneath  the  cold  moon-beams  of  the 
gospel.  To  him,  that  gospel  opens,  on  the  one  hand, 
no  thrilling  scene  of  spirits  fallen,  defiled,  benighted 
and  accursed  ; and,  on  the  other,  no  enrapturing  dis- 
play of  love,  of  condescension  lower  than  angels  had 
dared  to  anticipate,  of  mercy’s  immeasurable  sacrifice, 
made  despite  of  base  ingratitude  and  of  parricidal  re- 
bellion. To  him  the  gospel  is  a description  of  good- 
ness similar  to,  but  no  greater  than  that  displayed  in 
the  ordinary  gifts  of  Providence. 

Such  is  the  theory,  and  such  are  the  fruits,  of  the 
sceptical  and  semi-sceptical  philosophy.  Wherever  it 
is  accepted,  the  distinction  between  man’s  native  pow- 


94 


SERMON  IV. 


ers  and  sensibilities,  and  his  actual  character  as  a sub- 
ject of  God’s  government,  is  lost  sight  of;  human 
nature  is  admired  almost  to  adoration  ; repentance,  as 
that  deep  emotion  which  breaks  the  heart  and  bruises 
the  spirit,  is  despised.  Thus,  whatever  other  “ sacri- 
fices” are  offered  to  God,  among  them  is  not  found  a 
“ broken  heart  and  a bruised  spirit.”  Thus  it  acts  on 
the  personal  piety  of  the  individual,  and  thus  it  affects 
his  influence  on  others.  In  himself  he  finds  more  to 
admire  than  to  condemn ; when  he  discovers  wrong,  he 
considers  it  superficial ; no  deep  and  painful  sense  of 
spiritual  necessity,  corresponding  with  descriptions  in 
the  Bible,  is  felt.  Calm  self-complacency  is,  indeed, 
the  very  feeling  which  he  seeks  to  derive  from  religion. 
And,  if  he  sees  any  thing  else  and  opposite  in  others,  it 
causes  only  contempt,  or  pity.  He  approves  not  their 
deep  and  pungent  convictions  of  guilt  and  misery,  nor 
comprehends  how  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb  of 
God  is  needed  for  his  guilt,  and  the  regenerating  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  his  depravity. 

The  fundamental  error  with  such  is  on  two  points, 
and  respects  two  aspects  of  human  nature  ; — man  as 
the  subject  of  law  ; and  man  in  his  capacity  for  a spir- 
itual life. 

Their  views  of  man’s  guilt  and  ill-desert  are  com- 
paratively slight.  They  allow  him  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  contemplation  of  his  own  excellence,  his  intellectual 
qualities,  his  social  feelings,  his  moral  sensibilities. 
They  hold  in  abhorrence  only  certain  crimes  against 
civil  laws  and  social  order.  They  excite,  and  they 
allow,  no  deep  and  heart  breaking  convictions  for  spir- 
itual offences  ; they  arouse  no  fears  of  endless  punish- 
ment. They  go  to  the  neglecter  of  religion,  and  per- 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  95 

suade  him  to  become  more  attentive  to  religious  truths 
and  duties.  They  go  to  the  pagan,  and  urge  him  to 
embrace  a purer  rite,  a more  rational  theology.  Their 
appeals  are  not  made  to  the  conscience,  to  start  it  from 
deep  slumbers,  and  make  it  echo  the  thunders  of 
coming  judgment.  And  when  they  find  it  awakened, 
they  proclaim  to  it  no  peace-speaking  sacrifice  for  sin  ; 
in  fact,  they  censure  this  very  alarm,  and  attribute  it  to 
ignorance  and  error.  Hence,  they  find  nothing  in 
man’s  prospects  to  enlist  deeply  their  own  solicitude. 
Hence,  they  accord  not  with  us  in  our  endeavors  to 
awaken  a slumbering  world  by  strong  appeals,  to  make 
it  hear — amid  what  they  call  its  innocent  amusements 
and  occupations — the  voice  of  an  insulted  Deity,  of  an 
outraged  Father,  of  the  threatening  majesty  of  Heaven. 

Thus  we  differ  from  them  in  our  estimate  of  the  ex- 
tent and  purity  of  the  precepts  of  the  divine  law.  We 
consider  all  the  world  as  its  guilty  violators  ; we  con- 
sider all  human  virtue,  in  man’s  unconverted  state,  as 
truly  sin  ; and  the  more  sinful,  the  more  it  becomes  an 
object  of  admiration  to  its  possessor,  and  an  occasion 
of  undervaluing  the  mediation  and  propitiatory  sacri- 
fice of  the  Son  of  God. 

Equally  antipathetic  are  our  views  of  man’s  spiritual 
character.  Of  the  dignity  of  his  original  character  and 
position,  of  the  noble  character  of  some  of  the  senti- 
ments of  a few,  we  have  as  high  an  estimate  as  any. 
But  we  believe,  that  the  spiritual  image  of  God  is 
effaced  from  the  human  soul  ; man  is  fallen,  terribly, 
desperately  fallen ; the  gold  has  lost  its  lustre.  His 
virtues  are  to  us  the  white  exteriors,  and  the  gilded 
ornaments  of  the  sepulchre.  His  smiles  are  to  us  the 
more  painful,  as  they  convince  us  that  he  is,  or  tries  to 


96 


SERMON  I V. 


be,  contented  with  his  state  of  spiritual  poverty,  guilt 
and  degradation.  In  a word,  we  consider  man  as  alien- 
ated  from  God ; intellectually  and  physically  alive, 
spiritually  dead.  And,  therefore,  we  cannot  content 
ourselves,  by  endeavoring  to  refine  and  elevate  a few 
of  the  most  highly  favored  of  our  race  ; we  must  reach 
all  men.  They  are  all  wanderers  from  the  home  of 
the  soul — the  bosom  of  God ; and  they  must  all  be 
persuaded  to  return.  The  malady  of  sin  lies  deeply 
fixed  in  the  immortal  part — the  soul ; and,  therefore, 
intellectual  elevation  and  social  refinement  do  not  re- 
move it,  and  have  no  tendency  to  remove  it.  We  re- 
gard the  gospel,  applied  by  God’s  Spirit,  as  the  sole 
remedy.  Christ  is  their  life  ; — Christ,  the  Lamb  ot 
God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  ; — Christ, 
the  ever-living  intercessor  ; — Christ,  the  medium  and 
fountain  of  the  life-giving  Spirit.  The  world— all  the 
world,  high  and  low,  princes  and  peasants,  learned  and 
ignorant,  virtuous  and  vicious,  idolaters,  infidels,  and 
nominal  Christians — must  believe  in  Christ,  or  “be 
damned damned  at  that  tribunal  where  believers 
shall  be  pardoned ; damned  by  the  malediction  of  the 
Holy  One,  who  appears  “ in  the  glory  of  his  Father, 
taking  vengeance  on  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel.” 
From  these  different  estimates  of  man  arise,  what 
should  not  arise,  hostile  feelings ; but  hence  arise  also, 
necessarily,  our  different  courses  with  regard  to  man. 
With  our  views,  we  shall  never  be  satisfied,  without 
the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  bring  all  mankind  to  re- 
pentance and  faith  in  Christ.  With  their  views,  they 
naturally  look,  with  indifference,  on  the  earnestness 
and  self-denial  of  missionary  life,  and  the  success  of 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  97 

missionary  enterprise,  so  far  as  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  upon  the  heart  is  concerned. 

It  behooves  us  then  to  review  our  premises.  The 
sincere  mind  is  ever  ready  to  ask, — “Am  I right?” 
We  are  willing  to  ask  and  wait  candidly  for  the  reply 
to  these  questions  ; — “ How  must  I regard  human  na- 
ture, myself  and  my  fellow  men  ? — What  is  my  highest 
duty  with  respect  to  my  immortal  self,  and  what  with 
respect  to  my  fellow  men  ?”  Nay  ; we  are  not  taking 
up  this  subject  for  the  first  time.  We  have  already 
decided,  and  felt,  and  acted  upon  it.  We,  who  have 
embarked  in  the  missionary  enterprise,  are  a small 
minority  of  the  civilized  world,  perhaps  a minority  even 
of  the  religious  world.  We  have  spent  large  sums  of 
money,  yea  squandered  wealth,  if  we  are  wrong ; we 
are  still  doing  it,  and  we  are  arousing  the  churches  to 
intenser  feeling,  and  more  liberal  effort.  We  desire  to 
consecrate  our  very  selves  to  this  enterprise.  Life  is 
rapidly  passing  away,  and  we  are  devoting  its  best 
hours  and  energies  to  this  work.  Some  of  our  number 
have  severed  every  tie  of  home  and  nation,  and  adopted 
a life  of  exile  and  privation  ; wisely,  if  our  views  of 
man  are  truth  ; madly  and  miserably,  if  they  are  error. 
This  night,  we  are  assembled  to  sympathize  with  an- 
other, who  has  ventured  his  temporal  all  upon  the  truth 
of  our  sentiments.  We  together  look  upon  the  situation 
of  mankind,  apart  from  the  provisions  of  the  gospel,  and 
away  from  its  influences,  as  inconceivably  dreadful 
and  desperate.  Our  souls  are  moved  with  deep  com- 
passion, our  hearts  are  oppressed,  as  we  contemplate  his 
present  state  and  his  prospects  beyond  this  life.  We 
want  to  rush  to  his  rescue.  Are  we  right,  or  are  we 
wrong?  Are  these  emotions  excited  in  view  of  truth 

9 


98 


SERMON  IV. 


and  stern  reality,  or  by  a delusion  of  our  own  imagina- 
tions ? Have  we  yielded  to  the  influence  of  an  unen- 
lightened education ; or  is  it  in  view  of  facts,  that  we 
are  impelled  and  that  we  act  ? We  desire  truth,  and 
only  truth.  We  desire  to  see  things  now,  as  far  as 
practicable,  as  we  shall  see  them,  when  the  illusions 
of  time  shall  have  given  place  to  the  light  of  eternity. 
We  have  also  a desire  to  vindicate  our  course  to  an  in- 
telligent world  ; and,  if  we  are  right,  to  become,  in  our 
turn,  the  reprovers  of  its  unbelieving  indifference.  And 
we  may  by  divine  blessing  accomplish  one  other 
good,  by  our  meditations  on  this  subject ; — even  that 
of  guarding  our  hearts  against  the  chills  of  unbelief, 
and  of  quickening  in  them  a deeper  sympathy,  stronger 
zeal,  and  holier  purposes. 

Brethren  ! we  spend  this  tender  and  sacred  hour  in 
contemplating,  devoutly, 

Jesus,  the  Great  Missionary. 

He  is  the  Judge  that  ends  the  strife.  He  is  the  “Logos,” 
the  Truth.  All  his  views  were  truth,  all  his  sentiments 
righteousness.  There  was,  even  in  his  finite  human 
nature,  no  error  in  theory,  no  misapprehension  of  facts, 
no  exaggerated  impulse,  no  passion.  He  says  that  he 
“ came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.”  That 
looks  to  us  like  calling  him,  the  Great  Missionary,  the 
Pattern  of  all  missionaries,  the  Founder  of  our  mission- 
ary institutions.  We  go  forth  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  is  lost ; and  we  believe,  that  our  views,  and  our 
course,  are  an  imitation  of  his,  and  an  obedience  to  his 
last  command, — “ Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature.” 

We  propose  then  to  examine  the  meaning  of  the  term 
“ lost,”  as  here  employed,  by  the  views,  which  Jesus 


JESUS 


THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  99 


entertained  of  men,  and  by  his  conduct  toward  them ; 
—By, 

I.  His  estimate  of  man.  What  extent  of  mean 
ino*  did  he  attach  to  the  term  “ lost’7  ? 

1.  He  regarded  man  as  a depraved  and  apostate 
spirit.  Depraved  and  apostate  are  relative  terms,  refer- 
ring to  a certain  standard  of  perfection  and 'excellence. 
Man  was  made  for  great  moral  purposes,  to  conform  to 
a type  of  perfect  excellence,  to  attain  great  heights  of 
moral  elevation.  Such  was  in  fact  the  original,  native 
tendency  of  his  constitution.  And  there  is  his  dignity. 
Now  if  the  Savior  considered  the  present  state  of  man 
as  conformed  to  that  type,  then  he  did  not  regard  him 
as  depraved  and  apostate.  And,  happily,  we  are  left  to 
no  conjectures  here.  We  have  something  better  too 
than  dry  and  uncertain  etymologies.  Whenever  we 
can  ascertain  what  Jesus  considered  holiness  and  the 
spiritual  life  to  be,  then  we  can  tell,  from  our  own 
knowledge  of  man,  what  he  considered  to  be  his  actual 
state.  And  yet  better ; we  may  know  directly  what 
opinions  he  had  on  this  subject.  His  ideas  of  holiness 
are  seen  in  his  own  character  and  actions  ; of  which  it 
might  be  enough  here  to  say,  that  all  men  consider 
them  perfect,  and  yet  totally  unlike  those  of  any  other 
man.  One  has  well  said  of  him : “ To  God,  as  the 
source  of  his  spiritual  life,  was  his  soul  ever  turned ; 
and  this  direction  of  his  mind  was  a matter  of  indis- 
pensable necessity  to  him.  It  was  his  meat  and  his 
drink  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father.  Without  uniting 
himself  wholly  to  God,  consecrating  himself  to  God 
unreservedly,  feeling  himself  to  be  perfectly  one  with 
God,  he  could  not  have  lived,  he  could  not  have 
been  at  peace  in  his  spirit  a single  instant.  By  this 


100 


SERMON  IV. 


means  the  morality  of  Jesus  became  perfectly  reli- 
gious; it  was  not  merely  something  which  flowed 
from  a sense  of  duty,  it  was  a holy  sentiment  of  the 
heart.”  Now  whom  did  Jesus  regard  as  possessing 
that  spiritual  life  which  consists  in  rising  above  created 
good  to  live  in  God,  to  feast  on  his  smile,  and  breathe 
the  atmosphere  of  his  love  ? Was  it  the  poor  idolater 
of  the  surrounding  pagan  tribes  ? Was  it  the  proud, 
sanctimonious  Pharisee,  inwardly  full  of  putrefaction 
as  the  grave?  Was  it  the  infidel,  sensual  Sadducee, 
who  ridiculed  all  pretensions  to  spiritual  communion  ? 
Was  it  the  crowd  who  followed  him,  not  for  truth  and 
spiritual  aliment,  but  for  bread?  Was  it  the  rich 
young  ruler,  so  amiable,  so  pure,  so  sincere,  who  went 
away  sorrowful  when  he  learned,  that  God  and  mam- 
mon cannot  be  loved  and  served  together  ? Nay,  was 
it  the  half-converted  Peter,  whom  he  rebuked  as  fearing, 
in  the  spirit  of  Satan,  the  sacrifice  of  self;  or  John  and 
James,  who  then  looked,  in  serving  God,  for  the  hon- 
ors of  a temporal  kingdom?  Was  it,  in  a word,  the 
being,  of  whom  it  is  recorded,  that  Jesus  “ knew  what 
was  in  man,”  and  therefore  trusted  not  himself  to  him  ? 
Oh ! no ; the  Son  of  God  walked  like  a living  man 
among  the  tombs  ; and  the  silence  of  the  second  death 
had  reigned  there  for  ever,  if  his  own  omnipotent  voice 
had  not  cried — “ Lazarus  ! come  forth.” 

We  have  another  exhibition  of  the  Savior’s  views 
of  what  constitutes  the  spiritual  life,  in  his  benedictions. 
u Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  the  pure  in  heart,  the 
peace-makers,  they  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness, they  who  love  him  more  than  parents  and 
possessions  ; nay,  that  forsake  all  things,  even  life  itself, 
for  His  sake  and  the  gospel’s.”  Now,  can  we  believe, 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  101 

that  he  considered  mankind  generally  in  his  day,  or, 
that  he  considers  the  men  of  this,  or  of  any  other  period, 
as  pure  in  heart,  peace-makers,  seeking  spiritual  good 
with  an  eagerness  like  that  of  the  corporeal  appetites  ; 
seeking  their  rest  in  God,  as  the  weary  body  seeks  its 
couch  ; longing  for  God,  as  the  hunted  hart  pants  for 
the  water  brook,  or  as  the  shipwrecked  mariner  longs 
for  morning  light  ? Can  mankind  generally  say  sin- 
cerely, “ My  heart  and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living 
God  ?”  Impossible. 

Our  Savior  again  presents  the  standard  of  human 
excellence  : “ Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  soul,  mind  and  strength,  and  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself.”  And  did  he  think  that  idolaters,  the 
profane,  the  neglecters  of  God’s  service,  those  who  love 
pleasure  more  than  God,  the  proud,  the  covetous,  the 
sensual ; — did  he  believe,  that  they  were  good,  when 
compared  with  that  standard — thou  shalt  love  God 
supremely  and  perfectly?  Or  as  the  envious,  am- 
bitious, fraudulent,  cruel,  tyrannical,  impure  slanderers 
love  others  as  themselves  ? Do  they  in  India,  Africa, 
Europe,  America  ? Did  they  in  any  part  or  age  of  the 
world  ? Ask  history.  It  is  indeed  too  generally  the 
record  of  the  powerful.  But  it  shows  what  all  would 
do,  if  their  circumstances  permitted.  And  have  the 
powerful  been  good  ? Have  their  lives  been  examples 
of  piety  ? Have  their  energies  been  consecrated  to  the 
public  welfare  ? There  has  been  a Cyrus,  an  Aristides, 
a Joshua,  a St.  Louis,  an  Alfred.  But  they  are  the 
exceptions.  The  history  of  kingdoms  is  a record  of 
wars  and  their  horrors,  of  frauds  and  oppressions. 
What  says  the  social  state  of  mankind  ? Let  the  condi- 
tion of  woman,  in  all  the  lands  where  human  nature  has 

9* 


102 


SERMON  IV. 


acted  out  its  unobstructed  tendencies,  speak.  What 
is  a Turkish  wife,  an  Indian  mother,  a Hindoo  widow  ? 
Come  home,  then,  to  the  criminal  codes,  and  criminal 
courts,  and  criminal  establishments  of  Christian  Amer- 
ica. Leave  the  poetry  of  the  parlor ; lay  down  that 
enchanting  book  which  enraptures  you  with  its  visions 
of  human  dignity  and  loveliness ; leave  that  circle  of 
refinement,  where  a favored  few  have  separated  them- 
selves from  the  vulgar,  to  enjoy  a higher  intellectual 
and  social  life  ; and  come  with  me  out  among  the  mass 
of  this  moving  population.  Let  us  go  into  the  lanes 
and  alleys,  the  alms-houses,  the  hospitals,  the  prisons. 
Shrink  not,  admirer  of  human  nature ! this  is  man, 
godlike  man.  Do  you  know,  that  thousands  of  the 
very  children  of  this  city  are  liars,  thieves,  impure, 
profane?  And  what  of  the  pagan  world?  Oh!  let 
the  missionary  tell  you,  who,  having  gone  out  to  make 
common  interest  with  the  heathen,  has  examined 
deepl  y into  his  character.  Here  are  nearly  five  hundred 
millions  ; and  yet  the  portrait  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  remains  fearfully  accurate.  And 
does  this  being,  man,  remain  as  he  was,  when,  coming 
pure  and  perfect  from  his  Creator’s  hands,  he  was  pro- 
nounced very  good  ? 

And  what  commission  have  diseases  and  death  in 
this  fair  world  ? Who  opened  the  door,  by  which  they 
rushed  in  upon  their  prey  ? Did  God  make  man  for 
this?  You  must  say,  “Yes.”  The  Bible  says,  “by 
sin.  death  entered  into  the  world  ; and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.”  Each  breath 
that  you  draw  marks  the  death  of  three  of  your  race. 
The  first  may  be  the  lovely  bride,  decked  for  the  altar ; 
the  next,  the  father  of  a dependent  family ; the  next, 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  103 

the  sovereign,  who  has  been  the  father  of  his  people. 
No  place  is  so  exalted,  none  so  sacred,  that  disease  can- 
not invade  it.  No  tie  is  so  tender,  and  so  precious, 
that  death  will  spare  it.  And  when  you  visit  the 
burial-yard,  ask  whether  or  not  man  is  as  God  made 
him ! Was  he  made  to  be  the  slave  of  Satan  ; the 
sport  of  tempests  and  the  prey  of  death  ? Was  he  made 
for  poverty  and  filth,  for  rags  and  woe  ? Oh  ! no  ; he 
is  fallen.  The  race  is  fallen. 

If  we  want  another  test,  we  have  it,  in  the  pure  wor- 
ship, which  Jesus  rendered  the  Father.  Place  this  by 
the  side  of  human  religions.  The  greater  part  of  them 
are  bloody,  and  seem  to  have  preserved  the  tradition, 
that,  “ without  shedding  of  blood,  is  no  remission’7  of 
sins.  But  they  are  also  impure,  and  thus  declare  the 
deep  apostacy  of  man,  when  his  very  religions  remove 
him  farther  from  God  and  holiness.  If  he  makes  a 
Jupiter,  he  is  a monster  of  lust ; a Mars,  he  drives  his 
chariot  over  the  dying ; a Mercury,  he  is  chief  of  rob- 
bers ; a Juggernaut,  he  feasts  on  mangled  human  limbs. 
And  when  a pure  revelation  is  given  to  him,  first  in  a 
single  nation,  he  turns  backward  ever  towards  idolatry ; 
and  when  Christianity  is  given  to  the  nations,  they 
pervert  and  pervert  it,  until,  of  the  two  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  who  possess  it,  one  hundred  and  ninety 
millions  are  sunk  in  superstition,  and  idolatry  little 
better  than  paganism  itself.  The  moral  condition  of 
France  and  Spain  and  Italy,  the  history  of  religious 
persecutions  conducted  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  as  the  expansion  of  his  spirit,  and  as  obedience  to 
his  precepts,  appear  to  us  sad  confirmations  of  the  truth 
of  our  view,  that  man  is  lost,  because  he  is  a depraved 
and  apostate  creature. 


104 


SERMON  IV. 


We  learn  again  our  Savior’s  estimate  of  men,  in  the 
direct  expression  of  his  views.  And  here  we  are  at  a 
loss  to  select ; for  the  full  exhibition  of  all  that  is  con- 
tained in  the  Evangelists,  on  this  point,  would  be  but 
piling  passage  on  passage.  He  describes  the  condition 
and  prospects  of  man  in  parables,  and  in  simple  historic 
language,  in  ways  that  appear  to  us  impossible  to  mis- 
apprehend. If  man  is  an  apostate  and  depraved  crea- 
ture ; then  we  shall  expect  to  hear  that  the  way  to 
heaven  is  of  difficult  attainment,  and  entered  but  by 
few.  If  man  is  not  an  apostate,  but  an  innocent,  up- 
right, pure  being ; then  he  has  only  to  obey  his  instincts, 
to  cultivate  his  noble  nature,  and  he  is  holy  and  happy. 
It  surely  cannot  be  difficult  to  decide  what  Jesus 
thought  on  that  point.  “ Broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth 
to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat,” 
while  “ narrow  is  the  way  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and 
few  there  be  that  find  it.”  “ If  any  man  will  come 
after  me,  let  him”  what  ? cultivate  his  good  heart  ? — 
no,  “ deny  himself.”  And  in  how  many  ways  does  he 
describe  us,  as  poor,  and  miserable,  and  blind,  and 
sick,  and  weary,  burdened,  imprisoned,  enslaved,  dead, 
exposed  to  endless  destruction  ? If  not  sick,  we  have 
no  need  of  him ; if  not  sinners,  he  has  no  message  to 
us ; for  “ they  that  are  whole  need  not  a physician,  but 
they  that  are  sick.”  In  his  conversation  with  Nico- 
demus,  he  says,  that  we  must  be  regenerated,  and  that 
whoever  is  not,  cannot  be  saved.  And  mark  his  em- 
phatic reason ; “ that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh.” 
By  our  natural  birth,  we  inherit  only  that,  which  can- 
not inherit  heaven.  In  the  natural  birth,  there  is  a 
terrible  entailment  of  degeneracy ; so  that  there  needs 
a supernatural  birth,  a birth  of  the  Spirit.  With  all 


JESTJS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  105 

this  in  view,  it  is  impossible  to  believe,  that  Jesus  re- 
garded man  as  a refined,  noble,  elevated  being  ; as  in 
his  present  state,  the  type  of  perfection.  He  never  says 
it,  he  never  intimates  it.  We  look  in  vain  for  passages 
in  all  his  addresses,  as  well  as  in  all  the  writings  of 
his  disciples,  to  find  a language,  or  a sentiment,  like 
that,  which  we  constantly  hear,  about  the  purity,  and 
nobleness,  and  virtue  of  individual  men. 

But,  in  this  connection,  we  cannot  pass  by  the  por- 
trait of  man  given  in  the  story  of  the  prodigal  son.  Its 
very  object  was  to  reprove  the  self-righteous  men,  who 
thought  they  had  done  no  wrong,  and  had  not  wan- 
dered from  their  father’s  house.  We  cite  this  here 
particularly,  because  the  very  term  whose  meaning  we 
seek,  is  the  hinge  of  the  story.  Here  was  one  lost  to 
his  father.  There  is  something  in  the  word — lost , 
which  falls  on  our  ear  like  a death-knell.  It  presents 
to  us  the  twofold  idea  contained  in  this  story,  and  in 
the  two  in  its  context ; that  of  disappointment  to  God’s 
affectionate  interest  for  us,  and  to  our  own  hopes  of 
blessedness.  Observe  the  word  lost  illustrated  here 
three  times.  The  shepherd  has  lost  his  sheep,  than 
which  nothing  is  dearer  to  him ; the  woman,  her  means 
of  living ; the  father,  his  son.  Observe  this  picture 
of  man ; a wanderer — a wanderer  from  home,  from  God, 
from  heaven,  and  infinite  love.  The  son  of  a kind 
and  wealthy  man  feels  the  temptings  of  ambitious  inde- 
pendence, and  yields  to  their  influence.  He  leaves  the 
paternal  roof,  to  escape  the  paternal  eye.  He  gathers 
all,  and  goes  into  a far  country,  to  find  his  happiness. 
But  it  was  there  that  “ he  began  to  be  in  want.”  It 
was  there  that  he  plunged  from  one  depth  to  deeper 
depths  of  misery.  Poor  young  man ! we  pity  him ; 


106 


SERMON  IV. 


we  blame  him  too.  But,  alas  ! we  are  speaking  of 
ourselves.  This  is  the  portrait  of  the  race.  Fellow- 
men  ! we  are  in  that  far  country  ; we  are  lost  to  God 
and  to  ourselves.  Yes,  he  says  it ; — for,  behold  yon 
shepherd  ! what  does  he  in  the  wild  and  desert  place, 
exposing  himself  to  pains  and  dangers  ? Oh  ! he  comes 
“ to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.”  Yes,  we 
are  lost  to  God ; — for,  behold  that  aged  and  injured 
father,  running  to  meet  the  wandering  boy  when  yet  a 
great  way  off ; falling  on  his  neck,  embracing,  kissing 
him,  exclaiming,  “ This,  my  son,  was  dead  and  is  alive 
again,  was  lost , and  is  found  — lost  to  the  angels ; for 
there  is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  repenting  sinner.  Our 
noble  faculties,  our  affections  are  lost  to  God  ; for  we 
neither  love,  praise,  nor  serve  him ; and  in  place  of 
preparing  to  dwell  in  his  blessed  family,  we  force  him 
to  pronounce,  and  execute  on  us,  the  fearful  sentence 
of  his  law.  That  young  man  returned ; but  not 
until  he  was  convinced  of  his  guilt  and  folly, — not 
until  he  felt  that  he  was  in  want.  Had  any  one  met 
him  there,  and  convinced  him  that  he  had  not  wan- 
dered, dhen  he  had  never  returned.  That  young 
man  returned ; and  heaven  is  to  be  re-peopled  by  these 
returning,  repenting  prodigals.  And  will  there  be 
there  any  elder  sons  of  Adam’s  family,  who  have  never 
wandered  ? We  believe  not.  That  man  is  a depraved 
and  apostate  creature,  is  written  on  every  line  of  the 
Savior’s  biography,  and  on  every  syllable  of  his  in- 
structions. But, 

2.  He  regarded  man  also  as  a ; condemned  criminal . 
According  to  his  saying  to  Nicodemus,  “ He  that  be- 
lieveth  not,  is  condemned  already.”  This  was  said,  in 
connection  with  a comparison  of  man’s  moral  condition 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  107 

with  the  physical  state  of  the  Israelites,  who  were  bitten 
by  the  fiery  serpents.  They,  says  the  Savior,  were  to 
be  healed,  by  looking  at  the  uplifted  symbol  of  God’s 
righteous  judgments  against  their  sins  ; so  we,  who  are 
dying  beneath  the  righteous  anger  of  God,  are  to  be 
healed  by  believing  on  Him,  who  was  lifted  up  for  us 
on  the  accursed  tree.  But  whoever  believes  not,  re- 
mains in  his  state  of  condemnation.  This  condemna- 
tion includes  two  facts — that  of  transgression,  and  that 
of  punishment.  Jesus  did  regard  men  as  sinners.  Our 
ideas  of  sin  are  superficial  and  unimpressive  ; those  of 
Jesus  were  deep  and  awful.  He  traced  each  outward 
sin  to  the  heart,  the  fountain  of  spiritual  death  ; and  he 
detected  sin  in  the  heart,  where  no  outward  sign  was 
given  to  man.  And  he  showed,  that  it  were  better  to 
lose  limb  and  life,  reputation  and  each  dear  interest  of 
earth,  than  to  remain  a sinner  ; for  sin  is  the  transgres- 
sion of  the  law,  of  God’s  holy  law.  It  is  a terrible  thing 
to  infringe  the  laws,  that  control  the  material  world. 
For,  says  a French  preacher,  “ though  the  sea  should 
burst  its  limits,  and  cover  the  earth  with  a new  deluge ; 
though  its  furious  waves  should  overturn  and  sweep 
away  every  thing  in  their  passage ; though  they  should 
roll  down,  with  their  fracas,  the  rocks  rent  from  the 
mountains,  the  uprooted  trees,  the  dead  bodies  of  men 
and  animals,  and  should  make  of  our  globe  only  a wa- 
tery waste;  the  disorder,  thus  produced,  would  not 
deserve  to  be  named,  by  the  side  of  that  which  sin  pro- 
duces. Though  the  world  should  totter  on  its  ancient 
base,  and  reel  from  its  foundations ; though  the  stars 
and  their  systems  should  rush  into  wild  disorder,  and 
dash  against  each  other ; and  the  universe  revert  to  a 
more  frightful  chaos  than  that  from  which  God  brought 


108 


SERMON  IV. 


it  at  the  beginning ; this  disorder,  this  overturning  of  all 
material  things,  would  not  deserve  to  be  compared  with 
the  disorder  that  sin  produces.”  And  this,  because  the 
one  is  the  disorder  of  ignoble  and  perishable  matter ; 
the  other  is  the  ruin  of  mind. 

Not  only  has  sin  taken  possession  of  the  heart  of 
man ; but,  without  supernatural  aid,  that  possession 
must  be  indefinitely  permanent.  There  is  no  tendency 
in  human  depravity  towards  self-recovery  and  perfec- 
tion. In  all  that  we  have  known  of  it,  its  course  is  ever 
downward,  downward,  and  for  ever  downward  ! Sin 
never  yet  exhausted  itself  in  this  world,  nor  in  one 
heart.  Every  instance  of  recovery  from  its  dominion 
is  called  by  Jesus,  the  conquest  of  a strong  man  armed7 
by  a stronger  than  he. 

And  while  man  is  thus  a sinner, — a transgressor  of 
law,  he  is  exposed  to  eternal  death.  If  the  warnings 
and  expostulations  of  Christ  do  not  teach  this,  then 
they  are  to  us  without  meaning.  “Wo  unto  thee, 
Chorazin ! wo  unto  thee,  Bethsaida ! for  it  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and'Sidon,  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, than  for  you.”  “ And  thou,  Capernaum  ! which 
art  exalted  to  heaven,  shalt  be  thrust  down  to  hell.” 
u What  is  a man  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole 
world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?  or  what  shall  a man  give 
in  exchange  for  his  soul  VI  “ There  shall  be  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth.”  Dives  after  death,  “ in  hell, 
lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments.”  The  net  and 
fishes,  the  wise  and  foolish  virgins,  the  wheat  and  tares, 
the  separation  of  the  sheep  and  goats,  the  treatment  of 
the  unfaithful  steward,  all  tell  us  what  he  believes  con- 
cerning man’s  eternal  destiny.  But  nothing  that  he 
uttered  is  more  terrible,  than  the  declaration,  that  he 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  109 

himself  will  say  at  last  to  the  wicked,  “Depart  from 
me,  ye  cursed ! into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels.”  Men  may  close  their  ears,  and 
shut  their  eyes  against  this  ; but  it  is  the  word  of  God. 
Men  may  refuse  to  hear  it ; but  there  it  stands  a yet 
unfulfilled  prophecy,  made,  if  possible,  more  certain  to 
us,  by  the  past  fulfilment  of  the  others,  which  surround 
it.  Yes,  as  certain  as  was  the  destruction  of  Babylon 
and  Tyre,  the  deluge  of  water,  and  the  flood  of  fire  on 
a guilty  world ; as  certain  and  as  terrible  as  was  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  will  be  the  utterance  and  exe- 
cution of  those  terrific  words.  And  as  idle  and  impo 
tent  will  be  the  scoffs  and  self-reasonings  of  this  day,  as 
were  those  of  that  day,  to  arrest  the  judgments  of  God. 
But  who  can  measure  their  meaning?  “ Cursed /”  It 
is  terrible  to  be  cursed  by  a man,  a wicked  man,  with- 
out cause ; but  to  be  cursed  by  a Father,  by  a being 
who  never  errs  in  judgment, — a being  who  never  con- 
demns unjustly,— a being,  who  suffered  to  save  us, — a 
being,  who  has  long  expostulated  in  view  of  this  very 
judgment, — a being,  who  commands  the  elements  of  the 
universe  to  execute  his  purposes, — a being,  who  ranks 
his  glorious  perfections  to  flash  conviction  to  the  centre 
of  my  guilty  conscience  ! — You  say,  1 this  is  extrava- 
gant but  it  is  scriptural.  You  say,  ‘ it  is  cruel but, 
whether  is  it  cruelty  to  flatter  and  deceive  and  hide  im- 
pending danger,  or  to  expose  it  fully  and  earnestly. 

Men  are  to  be  cursed.  What  is  this  curse  ? A 
charge  to  the  universe  to  dry  up  each  fountain  of  de- 
light, and  open  on  my  guilty  soul  its  avenging  streams. 
What  does  this  curse  ? “ It  strips  the  world,  external, 

and  internal,  of  love  and  sympathy  for  my  poor  heart, 
nature  of  its  charms,  earth  of  its  fruit,  the  heavens  of 

10 


110 


SERMON  IV. 


their  blessings,  existence  of  its  joys,  and  dries  up  the 
last  drop  of  happiness  in  the  last  fold  of  my  heart ; seals 
up  the  door  of  heaven  against  my  spirit,  and  blots  out 
the  star  of  hope.”  When  this  terrific  word  falls  from 
the  lips  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  it  forbids  an  angel- wing 
ever  to  flit  by  my  dear  abode  ; “ it  withers  up  my  soul 
to  its  root,  like  that  unfortunate  tree  which  the  breath 
of  the  Lord  cursed,  and  of  which  an  Apostle  said,  the 
next  day,  in  astonishment — Lord ! the  fig-tree  that  thou 
cursedst,  is  ivithered  away.”  What  must  this  curse, 
this  banishment  be  ? No  tongue  can  tell,  no  imagina- 
tion now  conceive.  Christ  has  warned  us,  with  a so- 
lemnity, that  may  well  intimidate  and  arouse.  We  can 
conceive  of  it,  as  nothing  less  than  eternal  banishment, 
from  light  and  life  and  hope,  to  regions  “ prepared  for 
the  devil  and  his  angels,”  where  the  soul  “ shall  be  en- 
veloped and  penetrated  with  a misery  immense,  infinite: 
where  it  shall  find  nothing  more  in  all  beings,  but  a 
universal  hell : a hell  within,  a hell  without,  a hell  in 
God  himself.” 

“ The  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost” — lost  to  God,  to  itself,  to  heaven,  to 
hope,  to  purity,  peace,  and  love, — lost  for  ever  ! One 
Scripture-phrase  concentrates  the  whole  truth  ; man 
without  God . He  was  made  in  the  image  of  God, 
made  for  him : made  holy  and  perfect,  filled  with  light 
and  pure  affection.  Then  his  eye  beheld  the  glory  of 
God.  Then  he  groped  not  in  that  darkness,  which 
now  surrounds  him ; then  he  pined  not  beneath  the 
maladies  and  miseries  and  mortality,  which  now  afflict 
him. 

I have  said,  that  we  have  more  exalted  views  of  man, 
than  either  the  sceptic,  or  semi-sceptic  philosophy  con- 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  Ill 

tain.  We  have.  We  believe  in  his  original  dignity ; 
and  we  have  such  views  of  that;  that  man,  in  his  pre- 
sent state,  is  a source  of  constant  distress  to  us  ; and  we 
desire  perpetually  to  be  proclaiming  in  his  hearing,  the 
dignity  he  has  lost.  We  would  say  perpetually  to  him, 
as  we  should  to  the  degenerate  descendant  of  a noble 
family,  still  wearing  their  name  and  title,  and  even  imi- 
tating their  lofty  bearing ; 4 Shame,  shame  on  thee  ! 
Thy  name,  thy  palace,  thy  lordly  mien,  are  all  thy  re- 
proach.’ We  have  such  exalted  views  also  of  the  per- 
fectibility of  man,  that  we  cannot  endure  to  see  the 
world,  contenting  itself  with  any  thing  short  of  the 
image  of  God,  and  of  perfect  communion  with  him. 
Man  was  a noble  being,  when  God  said  of  him — he  is 
good.  But  he  aspired  too  high  ; he  tried  to  become  a 
centre  of  light  and  strength  and  happiness  to  himself, 
and  to  be  independent  of  God.  He  withdrew  from 
God’s  spiritual  dominion,  and  God  abandoned  his  spirit- 
ual nature  to  itself,  and  made  him,  in  his  wretchedness, 
a spectacle  to  himself  and  to  the  universe.  The  brute 
creation  have  fled  him,  for  he  has  become  their  enemy ; 
the  very  earth  has  felt  the  blighting  curse  that  lighted 
on  him.  He  was  chased  from  Eden’s  happy  garden,  and 
the  cherub-sentry  with  flaming  sword  still  stands  to  bar 
his  return.  Happy  Eden  ! scene  of  our  sweet  commun- 
ion with  God ; happy  Eden ! witness  of  our  dignity 
and  of  our  blessedness  ; thou  art  lost  to  us,  and  we  to 
thee  ! My  brethren  ! we  are  strong  and  high  believers 
in  the  dignity  of  human  nature.  No  man  shall  deprive 
us  of  this  our  boasting ; yet,  not  in  human  nature  as  it 
is,  but  as  it  was,  and  as  by  grace  it  may  become.  As 
he  is,  man  is  lost.  And  we  want  to  sit  down,  by  the 
side  of  every  brother  of  the  human  race,  and  weep  with 


112 


SERMON  IV. 


him  for  the  crown  which  has  fallen  from  our  brow,  the 
home  and  the  heaven  which  we  have  lost.  We  want 
to  undo  the  deceiving  of  his  pride,  and  sigh  and  pray 
with  him  for  the  recovery  of  our  birth-right. 

But  are  the  heathen,  who  have  not  our  light,  exposed 
to  perdition?  A careless  world,  unwilling  to  make 
thorough  inquiry  into  the  condition  and  prospects  of 
other  men,  complacently  wraps  itself  in  the  mantle  of 
an  imagined  charity,  and  says,  £ The  mercy  of  God 
will  never  consign  them  to  endless  punishment,  when 
they  have  sincerely  done  their  best  according  to  the 
light  they  enjoy.5  And  there,  indeed,  we  are  agreed 
with  the  world ; but  we  are  forced  to  stop  there  ; for 
we  have  too  many  proofs,  that  there  are  but  few  of 
them  who  will  have  that  plea.  We  find  even  a part 
of  the  church,  though  unable  to  hope  much  for  the  pa- 
gan world,  yet  unwilling  to  adopt  the  harsh  conclusion, 
that  these  hundreds  of  millions  are  rushing  blindly  to 
endless  ruin ; and  preferring  to  rest  in  a vague  hope 
that  it  will  not  be  so,  rather  than  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures to  ascertain,  if  God  has  given  us  any  instruction 
on  the  subject,  and  imposed  upon  us  any  responsibility 
in  the  matter. 

Here  we  shall  fail  of  time  for  a solemn  topic.  The 
sneers  of  the  world  terrify  us  not  in  such  a matter. 
The  charge  of  cruelty  troubles  not  our  conscience, 
while  we  seek  not  to  make  their  destruction  a fact,  but 
to  ascertain  whether  they  are  really  exposed  to  destruc- 
tion, in  order  that  we  may  aid  them  to  escape  it.  In- 
deed, if  we  were  not  distrustful  of  our  own  imperfect 
motives,  we  should  say  that  ours  is  the  true  charity, 
which  welcomes  evidence,  though  it  bring  us  to  the 
results  of  distressing  sympathy  and  of  self-denying 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  113 

labor.  We  are  inclined  to  suspect  the  depth  of  that 
charity,  which,  to  save  its  possessor  pain,  and  spare 
him  labor,  settles  a great  principle  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment, a great  future  fact,  not  by  examining  God’s 
testimony,  but  by  appealing  to  a mere  human  sensi- 
bility. If  we  consult  our  sympathies,  we  say,  ‘the 
poor  pagans  will  not  go  to  a miserable  eternity ; but 
where  they  will  go  we  know  not.’  But  when  we  ask, 
‘ What  has  God  asserted  on  this  subject  V we  rise  from 
the  answer  with  heavy  hearts.  The  cry  of  the  perish- 
ing then  swells  on  our  ear — ‘ Come  over  and  help  us,’ — 
until  we  wish  for  a thousand  tongues  to  proclaim  to 
them  the  way  of  life. 

An  outline  of  God’s  testimony  is  all  that  we  can  now 
present.  If  we  examine  their  lives,  considered  in  the 
light  of  a disciplinary,  probationary,  or  preparatory 
state,  we  cannot  believe,  that  they  go  to  heaven.  They, 
as  well  as  we,  must  be  regenerated,  and  that  in  this 
world.  But  we  find  them,  as  in  Paul’s  day,  infanti- 
cides, liars,  adulterers,  covenant-breakers,  bestial,  sen- 
sual, devilish,  murderers  of  mothers.  All  this  seems  to 
us  a preparation,  not  for  heaven,  but  for  perdition.  We 
find  them  too,  just  what  the  Canaanites  were,  whom 
God  in  his  anger  swept  from  the  earth,  but  surely  not 
into  heaven.  They  are  idolaters,  if  there  ever  were 
any;  and  God  declares,  that  such  cannot  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Again,  to  believe  that  they  are  in 
the  way  to  heaven,  is  to  regard  all  the  Apostle’s  anxie- 
ties and  labor  for  their  salvation  as  unfounded,  extrava- 
gant, and  useless.  And  again ; the  Apostle  has  fully 
reasoned  out  the  case  in  two  places.  In  the  one,  he 
shows  that  they  sin  against  their  light,  as  we  do  against 
ours.  In  the  other,  this  in  his  missionary  argument — 
10* 


114 


SERMON  IV. 


« For  whoso ver  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
shall  be  saved.  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in 
whom  they  have  not  believed  ? and  how  shall  they  be- 
lieve in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard?  and  how 
shall  they  hear,  without  a preacher  ? and  how  shall 
they  preach,  except  they  be  sent”  No,  my  brethren  ! 
it  may  be  natural  sympathy,  or  it  may  be  distrust  of 
God’s  testimony  which  says,  c Let  the  heathen  alone  V 
but  it  is  not  enlightened  piety. 

Then  we  are  right  in  our  estimate  of  man  ; then  we 
should  not  be  dazzled  by  his  external  appendages,  his 
intellectual  and  social  traits.  Then  we  may  say  to  the 
higher  and  lower  Deistic  philosophies, — £ Your  boast  is 
vain,  when  you  claim  the  exclusive  admiration  of  hu- 
man nature  ; for  we  have  higher  views  than  either  of 
you.  You  would  satisfy  man  with  certain  social  ex- 
cellencies, certain  pagan  virtues,  certain  moral  senti- 
ments, which  have  little  or  no  reference  to  God ; but 
we  believe,  that  man  was  made  to  live  in  God,  and  to 
reflect  his  image  to  the  universe.  You  are  teaching 
him  to  aspire  to  an  intellectual  millennium ; we  are 
aiming  to  prepare  the  world  to  return  to  the  love  of  God 
and  a spiritual  life.  We  hold,  too,  the  key  that  unlocks 
the  deep  mystery  of  man’s  present  condition.  A French 
writer  of  your  school  says — “ I resemble.  O Lord,  the 
night-globe,  which  in  the  obscure  path  where  thy  finger 
leads  it,  reflects  from  the  one  side,  eternal  light,  and  on 
the  other  is  plunged  in  mortal  shades.”  “ How  abject, 
how  august,”  says  one  of  another  school,  “ how  com- 
plicate, how  wonderful  is  man !”  There  is  something 
great  in  man,  and  something  abject.  To  us  the  mys- 
tery is  solved.  Man  was  great,  good,  god-like  in  his 
powers  and  in  his  character ; but  he  is  fallen  in  char- 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  115 

acter,  and  in  that  fall  has  dragged  down  his  powers 
and  native  sentiments ; leaving,  like  a volcanic  rupture, 
fragments  of  an  Eden,  scattered  flowers  that  live  here 
an  exotic  life. 

We  shall  now  consider,  much  more  briefly,  Jesus  as 
our  pattern, 

II.  In  his  Treatment  op  Men. 

We  see  in  what  light  he  regarded  man ; and  how  his 
holy  soul  was  moved  with  compassion  towards  him. 
We  now  demand,  What  did  his  compassion  lead  him 
to  do  ? If  to  make  great  sacrifices,  then  his  views  of 
man’s  lost  estate  must  have  been  very  strong ; for  al- 
though it  may  be  love,  it  is  also  foolish  love,  that  makes 
a greater  sacrifice  and  effort  for  another,  than  his  neces- 
sities demand.  But  when  a being  of  infinite  intelli- 
gence makes  great  sacrifices, — greater  than  we  are 
capable  of  estimating ; the  evidence  is  complete,  that 
the  misery,  threatening,  or  actually  affecting  those 
whom  he  aids,  is  equally  immeasurable  by  us. 

On  the  subject  of  the  condescension  and  sacrifices 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  language  of  the  Bible  is 
deep,  mystic,  suggestive.  He  had  a glory  with  the 
Father  before  the  world  was.  but  he  left  it.  What 
was  that  glory  ? — we  want  to  ask — where,  and  how 
did  he  leave  it  in  becoming  a man  ? The  veil  of 
flesh  hides  it  from  our  sight.  He  was  rich ; when, 
where,  in  what  ? The  clouds  and  darkness  of  an  infi- 
nite majesty  rest  around  his  person,  and  hide  from  fee- 
ble mortals  the  splendors  of  his  primitive  empire.  But 
he  became  poor.  He  took  on  him  or  was  invested  with 
flesh.  Then  he  was,  before  he  was  flesh ; he  was  be- 
fore Abraham ; he  was  David’s  root  and  Lord,  before 
he  was  his  offspring  and  successor.  Mysterious  lan- 


116 


SERMON  IV. 


guage  ! He  took  on  him,  at  the  very  instant  when 
angels  were  adoring  him  as  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  the  form  of  a servant ; and  came  to  be  despised 
and  rejected,  to  hear  hisses  and  taunts  and  blasphemies, 
instead  of  hosannas  and  hallelujahs.  He  exchanged 
heaven’s  diadem  for  Judea’s  thorns,  and  the  robes  of 
light  for  Pilate’s  faded  and  discarded  garment ; he  for- 
sook the  palace  where  he  was  sovereign,  for  the  judg- 
ment-hall, where  he  was  bound  and  buffeted,  and 
scourged,  and  condemned.  He  left  his  body-guard  of 
holy  and  mighty  angels,  to  be  at  the  mercy  of  wicked 
and  puny  mortals  who  hated  him.  He  was  the  Lord 
of  the  universe,  but  he  was  born  of  one  of  the  lowliest 
inhabitants  of  earth’s  obscurest  corner.  He  was  prince 
of  life,  but  he  tasted  death  for  every  man.  This  the 
Scriptures  call  his  sacrifice  for  man’s  salvation.  But 
they  make  all  this  the  lightest  feature  of  the  image  of 
his  cross.  When  they  would  start  our  imaginations 
on  the  path  to  his  expiatory  sufferings,  they  drop  a few 
phrases,  which  are  not  so  much  intended  to  instruct  as 
to  impress  and  overwhelm  us  with  godly  fear  and  sym- 
pathy. “ My  soul  is  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto 
death.”  What  made  him  sorrowful — so  sorrowful? 
Nothing  in  all  that  was  external  around  him  there ; 
nothing  that  the  Evangelists  mention.  Again  ; in  the 
garden  his  bodily  frame  passes  through  an  unparalleled 
excitement  of  agony ; but  from  no  apparent  adequate 
cause.  To  attribute  it  to  his  fear  of  crucifixion,  or  to 
sorrow  for  his  cause  and  friends,  betrays  the  most  en- 
tire disrespect.  Again ; his  agonizing  cry,  “ Why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?”  leads  us  to  conjecture,  that 
there  is  something,  in  what  the  Son  of  God  endured  in 
our  stead  and  for  our  salvation,  which  we  may  under- 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  117 

stand  only,  when  our  intellectual  powers  shall  be  ex- 
panded by  the  light,  and  our  moral  powers  purified  by 
the  love  of  heaven.  And  when  Jesus  said  with  em- 
phasis, “ God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,”  we  understand,  that  this  gift  was  so 
costly,  and  there  was  in  some  way  such  an  expenditure 
and  sacrifice,  that,  it  not  only  showed  God’s  love  to 
man  more  clearly  than  all  else  that  he  had  ever  said  or 
done,  but  also,  the  immensity  of  that  love.  And  so, 
when  the  Apostle  reasons  for  the  encouragement  of 
faith  ; “ He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,”  &c.,  we  un- 
derstand that  this  not  sparing,  and  freely  giving  up, 
involve  something,  which  we  are  now  incapable  of 
comprehending,  but  by  which  God  designs  to  afiect  our 
hearts,  and  form  our  characters,  more  powerfully  than 
by  all  his  word  or  works.  If  the  understanding  of  any 
man  forbids  the  flow  of  emotion,  until  this  veil  is  re- 
moved, then  his  heart  will  never  feel  fully,  in  this  life, 
what  Paul  felt  when  he  said,  “ The  love  of  Christ  con- 
strained! us,  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for 
all,  then  were  all  dead.”  We  were  all  dead,  and  he 
died  for  the  dead ; and  in  dying,  he  showed  his  con- 
viction of  our  state  of  spiritual  death. 

But  we  have  done  with  proofs  of  man’s  apostate  and 
ruined  state.  It  is  to  us  a fact.  The  Word  of  God 
declares  it.  But  it  also  declares  another  fact.  And  on 
all  this  gloomy  cloud  rests  this  rain-bow  truth — “ The 
Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost.”  Oh  ! then,  ye  scoffing  economists  ! let  us  hear 
no  more  your  severe  reproofs  of  our  poor  expenditures 
of  property  in  the  missionary  cause.  Jesus  is  the  mas- 
ter whom  we  follow,  though  at  too  great  a distance ; 
Jesus  is  the  model  we  imitate,  though  very  imperfectly. 


118 


’ "V" 

Vt/'iV  ’V 

SERMON  IV.  . U'  r 

Oh  ! then,  covetous,  selfish  professors  of  Christ’s  gos- 
pel ! imbibe  his  spirit,  and  live  and  labor  and  expend 
for  the  recovery  of  the  lost.  Brethren  ! I must  rise  now 
from  the  attitude  of  defence,  and  turn  and  charge  on 
this  practical  indifference,  and  on  this  sceptical  philos- 
ophy, positive  guilt.  Had  the  Bible  contained  its  pre- 
sent amount  of  wisdom,  in  relation  to  some  of  men’s 
temporal  interests,  had  it  determined  the  great  questions 
of  finance,  how  eagerly  would  they  read  it,  how  cor- 
dially believe  it ! But  as  a spiritual  book,  the  one  class 
disregard  it,  and  the  other  look  at  it  as  full  of  exaggera- 
tions. But  they  should  remember,  that  this  is  the  only 
volume  in  human  language,  which  God  has  conde- 
scended to  write.  And  should  it  not  contain  deep, 
high,  wondrous  things  ? Is  not  this  one  of  its  very 
marks  and  seals  ? The  Bible  is  full  of  paradoxes  ; be- 
cause it  shows  us  only  fragments  of  truths,  the  full 
magnitude  and  harmony  of  which  we  cannot  now  com- 
prehend. When  God  teaches  man  the  dignity  of  his 
origin,  philosophy  denies  it,  and  makes  him  the  birth 
of  chance.  When  the  Bible  declares  the  dignity  of 
man’s  primeval  estate,  philosophy  denies  it,  and  says 
that  he  is  as  good,  and  pure,  and  happy,  as  when  God 
made  him.  When  God  pronounces  his  fearful  sentence 
against  sin,  philosophy  laughs  at  it,  and  says  “ It  is  ex- 
travagant.” When  God  proclaims  the  immense  price 
of  our  redemption,  she  laughs  again,  and  says,  “ How 
absurd  to  make  an  expiation  to  himself,  and  so  costly 
a one  for  such  trivial  offences.”  But  God  knows  two 
things,  which  we  do  not  know,  and  therefore  does  two 
things,  which  we  would  not  do.  He  knows  the  de- 
merit of  sin,  and  therefore  threatens  it  with  everlasting 
punishment.  He  knows  the  value  of  the  soul,  and 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  119 

therefore  gives  his  Son  for  its  redemption.  Ye,  that 
despise  this  rich  gift ! ye,  that  despise  us  for  our  efforts 
to  proclaim  its  story  to  the  world  ! let  me  say  to  you 
in  God’s  name — Ye  have  a double  guilt,  and  must 
meet  a twofold  condemnation.  You  believe  not,  and 
therefore  are  condemned  already.  You  also  rob  the 
world  of  its  hope.  Your  theories  and  your  practice 
would  leave  mankind  in  a hopeless  condition.  You 
dash  from  the  trembling  hand  of  perishing  man  the 
lamp  of  life,  the  cup  of  salvation.  You  shatter  in  pie- 
ces the  only  barque  to  which  poor  human  nature  can 
commit  its  hopes  for  eternity ! What  have  you  proved, 
fellow-man?  At  best  a negative.  You  have  begun 
and  ended  with  denying.  That  there  is  disorder, 
wickedness,  misery,  you  cannot  deny.  That  the  world 
is  full  of  it.  you  cannot  deny.  And  yet  you  would 
prevent  our  going  to  probe  this  mortal  wound,  and 
administer  God’s  efficacious  remedy.  If  one  finds  him- 
self the  slave  of  passion,  if  his  conscience  condemns 
him,  if  he  fears  that  there  possibly  may  be  an  hour  of 
retribution,  and  an  eternity  of  wretchedness  just  beyond 
the  confines  of  life — what  can  you  say  to  this  troubled 
spirit  ? You  can  sneer,  but  can  you  console  ? You 
can  reason,  but  can  you  suppress  the  instinctive  solici- 
tude for  a sure  and  solid  hope  of  immortal  blessedness  ? 
It  was  an  instructive  scene,  when  the  dying  Hindoo, 
representing  our  common  humanity,  turned  to  his  priest 
and  cried — “ Where  shall  I go  when  I leave  the  body?” 
And  the  priest  replied,  in  the  spirit  of  your  philosophy 
and  in  the  pride  of  ignorance — “Into  a bird.”  But 
when  that  bird  dies,  where  then?  “Into  a flower.” 
“And  where  then?”  The  priest  became  weary  with 
answering;  but  still  the  soul  cried — “And  where 


120 


SERMON  I V. 


then  V That  is  the  question  which  must  be  met — fui 
ly,  definitely  and  authoritatively  answered.  To  leave 
it  unsolved,  is  to  mock  and  deceive  the  wretched  heart 
of  the  mourner  ; to  leave  it  unsolved,  and  yet  pretend 
to  offer  the  cure  for  human  misery,  is  charlatanry  the 
most  detestable.  To  answer  it  by  conjectures,  or  to 
meet  it  with  inferences  from  God’s  mercy,  which  every 
groan  and  tear  falsifies,  is  fraud  of  the  most  injurious 
kind.  To  amuse  man  with  theories,  but  to  leave  dark- 
ness on  this  chief  point  of  all  his  solicitude,  is  the  glory 
of  anti-scriptural  philosophy.  Just  where  man  most 
wants  light,  it  is  darkness.  And  just  there  the  Bible 
pours  the  effulgence  of  eternal  day.  And  not  to  hail 
that  light,  not  to  spread  it,  is  treason  to  God’s  mercy, 
treason  to  our  sacred  trust,  treason  to  man’s  highest 
interests. 

But,  let  me  turn  a moment,  in  closing,  to  you,  my 
dear  brother  ! on  this  momentous  hour  of  your  life, 
when  you  have  come  to  receive  from  Jesus,  by  the 
hands  of  his  unworthy  servants,  the  investment  of  this 
highest  office  confided  to  man.  Let  me  say  to  you, 

That  deep  compassion  for  men  should  characterize  the 
whole  spirit  of  the  missionary,  and  of  missionary  work. 

Go  to  the  benighted,  with  as  glad  a heart  as  animated 
the  angels,  when  they  were  commissioned  to  announce 
the  glad  tidings  of  Heaven’s  great  mission  of  love. 
When  your  feet  shall  touch  the  shores  of  that  distant 
land,  sing  in  the  fulness  of  your  spirit — ‘ Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward 
man.  Be  touched,  like  your  High-Priest,  with  a feel- 
ing of  their  infirmities.  Dwell,  in  your  thoughts,  on 
their  lost  estate ; see  them,  as  the  great  Shepherd  did, 
wandering  from  the  fold  ; until  your  heart  bleeds,  and 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  121 

breaks  with  pity.  This  will  animate  and  sustain  you 
amid  difficulties.  You  can  bear  them  for  the  sake  of 
the  miserable,  for  yours  will  then  be  pity  tender  and 
sustaining,  like  that  of  the  patient  mother  by  the  couch 
of  her  suffering  child.  This  will  make  you  gentle 
and  forbearing  and  patient,  even  with  a mother’s  ten- 
derness, and  keep  you  from  crushing  the  bruised  reed, 
or  quenching  the  faintly-kindled  wick.  This  will  speak 
in  heavenly  eloquence  from  your  very  countenance, 
and  melt  the  gates  of  brass  in  the  hard  heart  of  man. 
This  will  give  you  errands  to  the  mercy-seat,  and  argu- 
ments before  it.  This  will  nerve  you  to  your  work, 
when  a relaxing  climate  would  tend  to  unnerve  you. 
This  will  be  treading  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Great 
Missionary. 

Let  me  say  again — That  the  example  of  Christ  is 
the  missionary’s  encouragement.  You  leave  all  for 
those  whom  you  would  save ; so  did  he.  You  mean 
to  identify  yourself  with  them  in  every  thing  but  sin, 
to  bear  their  infirmities  and  share  their  sorrows ; so 
did  he.  You  are  acting  on  the  great  principle,  that  to 
save  from  overflowing  evil,  the  good  of  the  universe 
must  be  diffused,  not  concentrated;  so  did  he.  You 
are  going  to  men,  and  not  waiting  for  them  to  come 
to  you  ; so  did  he.  You  are  going  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  is  lost,  according  to  the  measure  imparted 
to  you  of  the  Father ; so  did  he.  And  you  are  not 
only  laboring  like  Christ,  but  also  for  him,  and  with 
him.  He  is  seeking  these  very  souls.  He  once  did 
it  in  person.  Now  he  does  it  by  his  Spirit  and  by  his 
people.  But  his  interest  is  no  less  now,  than  when 
his  sacred  feet  were  traversing  the  land,  which  your 

feet  shall  traverse,  to  save  the  perishing  sheep  of 
11 


122 


SERMON  IV. 


Israel’s  fold.  You  are  going  like  him  to  pray  in  Geth- 
semane  ; but  he  spares  your  ascent  to  Golgotha  and 
the  tree.  Go,  dear  brother  ! moisten,  with  your  tears 
for  man,  the  soil,  which  he  moisted  when  he  thought 
of  the  lost.  Go,  assured  not  only  that  you  are  seeking 
them  for  Christ,  but  that  he  is  seeking  them  by  you, 
and  with  you.  Urge  that  much,  and  with  much  faith 
in  your  prayers ; it  will  prevail  for  many  a blessing. 

Let  me  conclude  by  saying — That  the  missionary’s 
great  work  is  to  persuade  men  to  believe  in  Christ. 
To  effect  this,  he  must  commend  himself  to  the  con- 
science. Through  an  awakened  conscience,  man 
learns  his  need  of  Christ.  Go  then,  dear  brother ! 
speak  to  the  sleeping  conscience  of  man.  Let  not 
your  attention  be  fixed  upon  his  peculiarities,  his  spe- 
cific qualities  as  an  individual  man,  or  his  more  general 
features  of  national  character,  his  theories  of  philoso- 
phy and  religion ; but  meet  him  as  a man,  as  a lost 
man  ; nay,  as  one  that  knows  he  is  lost.  If  your  at- 
tention is  drawn  only,  or  chiefly,  to  his  corporeal 
miseries,  his  social  degradation,  his  intellectual  priva- 
tions, you  will  incur  -the  danger  of  diverting  his  and 
your  attention  from  that,  which  should  arouse  your 
profounder  sympathies,  and  all  his  slumbering  energies 
of  conscience.  You  must  indeed  attempt  the  meliora- 
tion of  his  intellectual  and  social  state  ; but  guard 
vigilantly  against  letting  either  your  or  his  anxieties 
and  efforts  terminate  there.  When  you  have  to  meet 
him  as  the  philosopher  of  another  school,  you  may 
be  discouraged  at  the  sincerity  and  obstinacy,  nay 
perhaps,  plausibility  with  which  he  can  confront  you. 
But  when  you  meet  him  in  the  winning  strength  of  a 
deep  sympathy, — you  the  lost  and  recovered,  him  the 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  123 

lost  and  perishing  man, — then  you  are  in  your  strongest 
attitude,  he  is  in  his  most  defenceless.  The  mis- 
sionary must  speak,  from  deep  experience,  to  the 
consciousness  of  guilt,  often  stifled,  never  annihilated 
in  the  impenitent  bosom ; to  a conscience,  often  stifled, 
often  cheated,  never  tranquillized  by  his  vain  super- 
stitions. Speak,  my  brother  ! now  in  thunder,  now 
in  the  “ still  small  voice  ” So  God  speaks  in  nature 
and  in  grace.  Man  will  understand  you,  when  you 
whisper  to  his  conscience.  Yet  you  may  awaken 
resistance.  The  light  is  painful  to  them  that  love 
darkness.  And  false  philosophy,  and  false  religion, 
and  practical  unbelief,  will  all  be  resorted  to,  to  shield 
the  conscience.  And  yet  your  great  work  is,  to  bring 
home  to  the  soul  of  each  man  the  conviction  that  he 
is  lost.  Trouble  yourself  little,  and  others  still  less, 
with  theories  of  human  depravity.  They  may  be  im- 
portant. They  have  their  place.  But  whatever  else 
they  do,  they  do  not  awaken  the  conscience.  And  if  I 
mistake  not,  more  of  them  have  lulled,  than  have 
awakened  it.  The  facts  of  depravity  and  conscience 
are  two  of  the  ultimate  facts,  to  be  taken  as  theological 
axioms.  God  has  not  proved  the  existence  of  either, 
but  simply  asserted  it.  And  so  may  we ; both  on  his 
testimony,  and  on  men’s  very  consciousness.  And  yet, 
if  your  brethren  entertain  themselves  with  theory- 
making, or  deem  their  theories  important,  do  not  there- 
fore separate  from  them ; only  be  yourself  given  to  the 
work  of  saving  the  lost.  Perhaps  one  of  the  mightiest 
elements  of  ministerial  power,  is  the  deep  conviction 
on  the  soul,  of  the  lost  condition  of  man.  It  must 
give  fervor  and  frequency  to  prayer,  and  tend  greatly 
to  produce  conviction  in  others.  Your  hearer  may  be 


124 


SERMON  IV. 


proud  and  powerful  in  his  philosophy,  he  may  be  self- 
complacent  in  his  creed  and  ceremonies.  But  whisper 
to  his  soul,  of  seasons  of  shame  and  self-reproach  and 
fear,  which  forebode  impending  doom  ; and  he  cannot 
deny,  he  cannot  argue  ; for  he  feels,  that  he  is  dealing 
with  truth  and  with  God.  In  your  public  addresses, 
deal  with  the  conscience,  and  you  will  imitate  the 
greatest  preachers.  Study  the  sermons  of  Elijah  to 
Ahab,  of  Nathan  to  David,  of  Peter  to  the  thousands 
at  Jerusalem,  of  Paul  to  Felix.  There  you  find  no 
flattery  of  human  nature,  no  general  descriptions  of 
virtue,  but  guilt  and  condemnation  described  as  per- 
taining to  them  all.  Feel  that  man  is  lost ; that  guilt 
and  condemnation  and  spiritual  poverty  belong  to 
every  child  of  Adam.  Proclaim  that,  on  the  house-top, 
and  in  the  closet.  Man  may  not  have  thought  of  it, 
but  when  you  suggest  it,  he  sees  that  it  is  truth.  Give 
him  exalted  views  of  human  dignity  and  worth,  not 
as  it  is,  but  as  it  was,  and  may  be.  Solve  the  strange 
perplexity  of  every  man’s  experience ; tell  him  what 
you  know  of  former  conflicts  and  present  conquests ; 
of  noble  aspirations  after  heaven  and  sordid  attach- 
ments to  earth ; of  desires  to  please  God  and  deter- 
minations to  please  self.  Speak  to  his  love  of  happiness  ; 
he  will  understand  you.  And  as  you  solve  the  mystery 
to  his  astonished  soul,  as  you  describe  the  symptoms 
of  his  spiritual  malady,  as  you  point  him  to  the  balm 
of  Gilead,  and  the  great  Physician  ; a new  life  of  hope 
may  begin  to  infuse  itself  into  his  soul. 

Again  I say,  your  great  employment  is  to  bring  the 
individual  souls  of  men  to  Christ.  Be  not  diverted 
from  this  ; be  not  satisfied  short  of  success  in  this.  If 
you  must  do  other  things,  consider  them  collateral  and 


JESUS,  THE  GREAT  MISSIONARY.  125 

subordinate  to  this.  Your  glorious  commission  is,  to 
seek  and  save  the  lost.  Be  filled,  be  fired  with  the 
spirit  of  that  commission.  May  you,  and  may  the 
church,  and  all  of  us  who  announce  the  gospel,  be 
more  and  more  filled  with  that  glorious  object — the  re- 
storation to  immortal  spirits  of  the  lost  image  of  God, 
and  guiding  the  perishing  to  an  almighty  Savior.  May 
the  Spirit  be  poured  from  on  high,  until  the  whole 
church  sees  and  feels  that  these  facts  are  now  of  chief 
importance  ; — man  is  lost,  and  the  Son  of  God  is  seek- 
ing him ; man  is  lost,  and  the  Son  of  God  is  come  to 
save  him ; man  is  lost,  and  the  Church  is  commissioned 
to  go  forth  in  the  might  of  faith  and  prayer  to  his  salva- 
tion. To  save  the  lost ! To-night  we  talk  of  it,  as 
children  talk  of  the  affairs  of  empires  ; we  see  through 
a glass  darkly ; our  conceptions  are  low  and  limited. 
To  save  the  lost ! Tell  us,  ye  damned  spirits  ! what 
it  means.  Tell  us,  Son  of  God  ! what  it  means ; — 
what  stirred  thy  soul  in  Godlike  compassion  to  seek  the 
lost.  Tell  us,  ye  ransomed  and  ye  faithful  spirits  who 
never  sinned  ! — tell  us  eternity  ! — what  is  this  mighty 
work  of  gospel  missions.  Tell  us,  O Father ! tell  thy 
churches  ; tell  thy  ministers ; until  every  slumberer 
awake,  every  energy  be  aroused,  and  the  way  of  life 
be  pointed  out  to  a perishing  race ! 

11* 


SERMON  V. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


“ And  the  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me  among 
many  witnesses , the  same  commit  thou  to  faithful 
men , who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also  — 
2 Timothy  ii.  2. 

Christian  friends  ! 

We  are  assembled  to  remind’ one  another  of  departed 
worth  ; not  to  burn  idolatrous  incense  to  human  excel- 
lence, nor  to  forget  that  her  brightest  beams  were  only 
reflected — yea,  refracted  rays  of  her  Redeemer’s  glory ; 
but  to  encourage  and  animate  each  other  by  recalling 
those  days,  when  the  Spirit  descended  from  on  high, 
to  rekindle  the  fires  almost  extinguished  on  the  altars 
of  the  national  Church,  and  by  reviving  the  memories 
of  those  whose  names  are  dear  to  the  universal  Church. 
With  the  name  of  the  Countess  Selina,  we  associate 
the  idea  of  every  thing  exalted  in  Christian  character, 
of  entire  consecration  to  Christ,  of  the  true  spirit  of 
Catholicism  and  enlightened  Christian  liberality,  that 
discriminates  the  essentials  from  the  non-essentials  of 
Christianity,  and  recognises  the  family  likeness  amid 
the  vast  variety  of  feature  and  complexion  that  indi- 
vidualizes the  members  of  the  household  of  Christ. 
We  feel  ourselves  to  be  standing  to  day  on  a broad 


128 


SERMON  V. 


basis.  Our  spirits  expand  beneath  the  influence  of  the 
associations,  which  this  anniversary  revives.  We 
leave  the  imprisonment  of  sect,  burst  its  shackles,  and 
tread  on  the  confines  of  the  day  of  love  and  light  so 
long  desired.  We  come,  Christian  friends  ! to  cherish 
an  Institution  dear  to  the  heart  of  one  of  God’s  most 
distinguished  servants.  We  come  to  sympathize  with 
her  holy  desires,  to  mature  her  generous  plans,  and  to 
adapt  them  to  the  exigencies  of  our  age,  and  to  the 
ever-varying  developments  of  Providence.  We  cele- 
brate the  anniversary  of  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon’s 
College ; and  I feel  assured,  that  however  I may  fail 
in  the  expansion  of  the  topic,  I have  not  erred  in 
choosing,  as  the  theme  of  your  meditations,  the  impor- 
tance of  learning  and  piety  in  the  gospel  ministry. 
This  sentiment  was  the  corner-stone  of  the  College. 
The  earnest  conviction  of  its  truth  led  to  the  generous 
efforts  and  sacrifices,  which  founded  this  Institution. 

The  solemn  trust  of  perpetuating  the  gospel  minis- 
try is  committed  to  the  Church.  And  her  responsi- 
bility in  the  case  appears  very  grave,  when  we  regard 
either  the  good,  or  the  evil,  which  has  been  produced 
respectively  by  a qualified  or  an  unqualified,  by  a spir- 
itual or  a worldly  ministry.  The  phases  of  the  Church, 
in  the  successive  periods  of  her  history,  are  a faithful 
reflection  of  the  competency  or  incompetency,  of  the 
intellectual  and  spiritual  excellencies  or  defects  of  her 
pastors.  By  them  the  sacramental  host  has  been  train- 
ed for  the  sacred  wars,  and  led  to  glorious  triumphs  ; 
and  by  them  Zion’s  citadel  has  been  betrayed.  They, 
who  should  have  been  her  defence,  have  ingloriously 
opened  her  gates  to  the  enemy,  and  the  sacred  place 
has  been  trodden  by  the  feet  of  the  profane.  It  was 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


129 


under  the  guidance  of  her  faithful  pastors  and  evange- 
lists, that  she  attained  her  primitive  glory ; and  it  was 
under  her  vain  and  fanciful  doctors,  even  in  the  vaunt- 
ed “ primitive  Church,”  that  she  began  to  mingle  frag- 
ments of  pagan  philosophy  with  her  pure  creed,  and 
pagan  ceremonies  with  her  simple  rights.  It  was 
again  under  her  learned  and  scriptural  leaders,  that  she 
came  up  from  the  wilderness  of  papal  superstition,  and 
error,  and  slavery,  into  spiritual  light,  and  life,  and  lib- 
erty. By  her  devoted  and  qualified  ministry,  she  has 
maintained  the  successful  contest  with  the  various 
forms  of  infidelity  at  home,  obliging  it  even  to  change 
its  showing,  and  to  shift  its  ground  ; by  them  she  is 
now  maintaining  probably  the  last  struggle  with  pagan- 
ism ; and  by  them  must  she  fight  that  last  great  battle, 
in  which  Christ  shall  destroy  the  man  of  sin  by  the 
sword  of  his  mouth.  The  names  and  the  virtues  of  a 
few  from  the  myriads  of  her  glorious  leaders  are  left  to 
the  church,  as  one  of  the  rich  gifts  of  Providence  ; and 
she  may  safely  challenge  the  world  to  show  the  class 
of  men,  who  have  done  so  much  to  establish  truth  and 
virtue ; while,  at  the  same  time,  the  world  may  well 
challenge  her,  to  show  a class  of  greater  scourges  tljan 
the  ignorant,  the  fanatical,  the  worldly,  and  selfish 
ministers  of  religion  have  been. 

The  piety,  the  peace,  the  progress  of  the  Church, 
and  the  temporal  welfare  of  society,  are  connected 
more  intimately  with  the  character  of  the  Christian 
ministry  than  with  any  other  human  cause.  Paul 
understood  this  connexion.  His  views  of  the  nature 
and  influence  of  the  embassy  of  reconciliation  were 
large  and  profound.  No  man  better  understood  the 
importance  of  the  office,  and  the  necessity  of  thorough 


130 


SERMON  V. 


qualification  for  it.  His  prophetic  warnings  show  us, 
how  painful  were  his  convictions  of  the  evils  that  the 
Church  must  suffer,  of  the  darkness  and  confusion 
that  would  settle  upon  her,  under  teachers  who  should 
seek  their  own  glory  and  not  her  good, — under  teach- 
ers who  knew  more  of  human  speculation  than  of 
divine  revelation.  We  are  not  surprised,  accordingly, 
when  we  find  so  frequent  reference  to  this  important 
subject,  in  his  letters  both  to  churches  and  to  ministers. 
One  of  his  chief  sources  of  anxiety  evidently  was,  the 
exposure  of  the  Church  to  the  bad  instructions  of 
incompetent  preachers,  and  to  the  bad  example  of 
unholy  pastors.  The  history  of  the  Church  after  his 
decease  acquaints  us  more  fully  with  the  grounds  of 
that  solicitude.  He  must  die,  and  his  faithful  pupils 
must  die ; — the  work  must  pass  into  other  hands. 
What,  then,  could  he  do  to  secure  a succession  of  com- 
petent and  faithful  pastors  to  the  Church  ? He  could 
write,  and  leave  on  record  to  the  end  of  time,  his  views 
and  his  exhortations.  He  has  done  this  ; and  in  pro- 
portion as  the  Church  shall  feel  an  interest  in  the 
subject,  in  proportion  as  she  shall  give  heed  to  his 
instructions  and  warnings,  and  do  what  is  assigned  her 
for  securing  a competent  ministry;  and  in  proportion 
as  the  existing  race  of  ministers  shall  feel  their  re- 
sponsibility, and  rightly  comprehend  their  duty  in 
perpetuating  their  office ; in  that  proportion,  will  the 
Gospel  be  faithfully  and  successfully  administered  in 
the  world;  and,  we  may  add,  it  will  produce  its 
happy  fruits. 

But  it  is  time  that  we  leave  the  threshold  of  our 
subject.  “ The  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me 
among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit  thou  to  faith- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  131 

ful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also”  I 
seize  here  the  two  characteristics,  of  fidelity  and  com- 
petency, which  the  apostle  especially  designates  to  his 
son  Timothy,  in  directing  his  choice  of  successors. 
And  from  it  I conduct  your  meditations  under  the 
two  topics  of  piety  and  ability  to  teach,  as  constituting 
the  qualifications  which  the  Church  must  both  demand 
in  the  candidates  for  her  sacred  office,  and  seek  instru- 
mentally  to  impart  and  augment  in  the  sons  of  the 
prophets.  “ The  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men, 
who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also.” 

We  shall  direct  our  attention,  first,  to  the  intel- 
lectual department  of  ministerial  qualifications,  the 
ability  to  teach. 

FIRST  PART. 

Our  proposition  is,  that  the  Church  must  secure  a 
learned  ministry.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all 
her  ministers  must  necessarily  be  men  of  such  attain- 
ments, as  to  merit  the  title  of  learned.  Piety,  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures,  good  sense, 
and  an  acceptable  manner  of  instructing,  may  qualify 
her  sons  to  do  much  good,  to  move  in  spheres  less 
conspicuous,  and  consequently,  in  some  respects  less 
exposed  to  the  temptations  of  ambition.  Such  men 
may  edify  the  Church,  and  lead  many  to  a knowledge 
of  the  Savior.  Their  prayers  may  bring  blessings  to 
thousands  of  their  fellow  men.  All  this  we  believe, 
and  rejoice  to  believe;  yet  it  remains  true,  that  the 
Church  is  called  upon,  by  the  providence  of  her  Lord, 
to  secure  a ministry  profoundly  learned,  and  dis- 
ciplined in  all  the  higher  range  of  intellectual  exertion. 
By  the  learning  of  the  ministry,  we  mean  to  describe 
both  knowledge  and  cultivation ; a knowledge  of  the 


132 


SERMON  V. 


Bible,  and  of  all  that  can  throw  light  upon  its  mean- 
ing;— a knowledge  of  the  various  shades  of  error  which 
have  misled  men  in  past  ages,  and  to  which  they  are 
still  exposed; — a knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  as 
gained  from  the  study  of  the  Bible,  of  history,  of  our 
contemporaries,  and  of  ourselves  ; — a knowledge  of  the 
dealings  of  God  with  his  Church  in  each  period  of  her 
history; — a knowledge  of  whatever  bears  upon  the 
interests  of  man  as  a subject  of  God’s  moral  govern- 
ment ; and  a thorough  discipline  of  mind,  or  the  power 
of  using  the  mental  faculties  in  the  highest  exercise 
of  which  they  are  capable.  We  are  aware  of  the  evil 
of  an  undue  dependence  on  learning.  We  are  aware 
of  the  evils  which  it  may  do,  when  separate  from 
piety  ; but  for  that  we  are  not  pleading.  We  know 
that  all  the  great  heresies,  which  have  misled  mankind, 
have  been  originated  by  men  of  great  philosophical 
acuteness,  and  generally  by  men  of  great  learning ; 
that  the  nation,  perhaps,  the  most  profoundly  learned, 
is  now  the  great  nursery  of  infidelity ; and  that  the 
schools,  which  they  founded  for  the  promotion  of  piety 
and  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  are  now  turned 
to  the  subversion  of  the  gospel,  and  to  the  establish- 
ment of  philosophy  on  its  ruins. 

1.  The  mere  knowledge  of  what  he  is  to  teach,  is 
so  varied  and  so  extensive,  that  a minister  must  really 
be  learned,  tQ  merit  the  title  of  a scribe  well  instructed, 
and  able  to  bring  forth  from  his  storehouse  things  new 
and  old.  If  this  be  doubted  by  any,  let  it  be  asked, 
what  are  ministers  to  teach,  and  where  and  how  are 
they  to  find  their  message  ? They  are  to  teach  the 
substance  of  what  God  has  revealed  in  a written 
volume.  But  that  revelation  was  made  in  languages 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  133 

tiow  not  spoken.  It  was  committed  to  writing  in  those 
languages.  Other  writings  were  surreptitiously  brought 
in  to  share  its  authority.  Now,  without  entering  upon 
this  field  of  research,  to  some  extent,  how  is  a man 
of  candid  and  inquiring  mind  to  find  assurance  that 
he  is  proclaiming  God’s  revelation  ? It  may  be  said, 
that  many  excellent  ministers  have  never  attended  to 
this  subject.  We  admit  it,  and  admit  that  the  most 
of  us,  who  are  now  in  the  ministry,  feel  the  defects 
of  our  early  education  in  this  and  other  departments. 
And  we  so  feel  them,  as  to  make  us  desire  strongly, 
that  those  to  whom  we  commit  the  office,  should  enter 
more  solidly  and  thoroughly  into  the  study  of  all  that 
is  fundamental  to  the  Christian  system.  We  desire  to 
see  a stronger  and  a better  race  of  men  succeed  us. 
Sensible  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  defects,  we  seek 
not  to  shield  our  pride  by  limiting  our  successors  to 
the  standard  of  our  attainments.  We  do  not  say,  that 
other  Christians  may  not  content  themselves  with  the 
received  canon  of  Sacred  Scripture,  and  with  the  re- 
ceived translation  ; but  we  do  maintain,  that  he,  who 
proposes  himself  as  a public  champion  for  the  truth 
of  revealed  religion,  as  a public  teacher  of  the  revealed 
will  of  God,  ought  to  go  nearer  to  the  fountain.  He 
ought  not  to  content  himself  with  receiving  it  at 
second  hand.  He  is  bound  for  his  own  sake,  for  the 
Church’s  sake,  and  from  honesty  to  those  whom  he 
opposes,  and  whose  rejection  of  the  Bible  he  so  se- 
verely condemns,  to  prove  to  his  own  mind  by  candid 
and  prayerful  research,  that  he  has  the  very  word  of 
God ; and  to  be  able  to  say,  not  from  translation,  but 
from  the  words  of  inspiration,  what  are  the  doctrines 
of  godliness  and  of  eternal  life.  If  any  have  not 

12 


134 


SERMON  V . 


time  for  this,  let  them  be  considered  the  exceptions, 
not  the  models.  Let  them  not  decry  learning  ; and 
let  not  the  Church  itself  act  so  inconsistent  a part, 
as  to  take  advantage  of  the  erudition  and  research 
of  the  men  of  other  days,  and  then  denounce  this 
very  erudition  and  research,  as  contrary  to  the  nature 
and  design  of  the  evangelical  ministry.  Let  her  not 
forget  her  indebtedness  to  her  Kennicotts,  her  Mills, 
and  her  Griesbachs ; no,  not  even  to  the  German 
neologists,  who  have  so  solidly  proved  the  accuracy 
of  the  manuscripts  from  which  our  own  translation 
is  taken.  Let  us  acknowledge  the  satisfaction  that 
we  experience,  and  the  indebtedness  that  we  feel  to 
the  men,  who,  by  great  learning  and  great  labor, 
have  proved,  that  the  providence  of  God  has  so  pre- 
served the  Scriptures  in  many  languages  and  among 
many  nations,  before  the  invention  of  printing,  that 
not  a single  important  doctrine  or  sentiment  is  lost, 
if  we  expunge  from  our  translation  all  the  passages 
in  which  the  manuscripts  of  highest  authority  differ 
from  one  another.  No ; I repeat  it ; Providence  lays 
this  necessity  upon  us.  It  has  been  by  severe  study, 
and  pains-taking  research,  that  ancient  manuscripts 
of  the  different  versions  of  the  Old  Testament  have 
been  found,  and  compared  with  the  copies  in  the 
hands  of  the  Jews.  It  is  by  much  research  and 
careful  comparison,  that  the  various  manuscripts  of 
the  New  Testament  have  been  examined.  This 
fundamental  branch  of  biblical  literature,  a teacher 
of  the  Bible  is  bound  to  know,  if  he  can.  He  ought 
not  to  be  ignorant  of  the  learned  and  subtle  objections, 
which  have  been  made  to  the  reception  of  the  Bible 
as  a divine  revelation.  He  ought  not  to  be  ignorant 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


135 


of  the  strong  and  cumulative  mass  of  evidence  of 
its  divine  origin,  which  places  Christianity  on  an 
unassailable  rock.  And  receiving  this  revelation,  he 
should  be  able  to  read  it  in  its  native  tongue;  for 
no  person,  who  has  read  a book  of  great  merit  in  one 
language,  and  then  read  its  translation  into  another, 
can  fail  to  have  felt  that  much  of  its  meaning  and 
beauty,  of  its  spirit  and  power  have  evaporated  in  the 
process  of  translating.  The  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scrip- 
tures ought  to  become  the  familiar  companions  of  a 
gospel  minister.  There  is  a sweetness,  unction,  and 
power  in  them,  which  can  be  felt,  but  not  translated. 
The  meaning  may  be  expressed  by  circumlocution ; 
and  the  translation  will  thus  be  equally  instructive  as 
the  original ; but  it  cannot  be  equally  impressive  either 
on  the  imagination  or  on  the  heart. 

2.  The  minister  must  be  learned,  for  the  defence  of 
the  truths  of  revelation  against  the  learned.  We  sup- 
pose him  now  to  be  prepared  to  instruct  the  sincere 
followers  of  Christ  from  his  stores  of  biblical  science — 
his  rich,  and  varied,  and  well-arranged  knowledge  of 
the  contents  of  the  Bible.  But  Providence  throws 
another  class  of  objectors  in  his  path.  These  appeal  to 
history  and  science,  to  prove  the  falsity  of  Christianity 
as  a pretended  gift  of  God.  They  frame  imposing  pro- 
positions and  arguments  in  philosophical  form.  These, 
again,  are  seducing  the  minds  of  the  learned  and  re- 
flecting among  his  hearers,  by  subtle  errors  apparently 
founded  on  the  very  word  of  God.  And  they  come 
forward  with  their  improved  versions,  and  new  transla- 
tions, and  shrewd  expositions,  assailing  the  very  foun- 
dations of  the  Christian’s  hope.  And  what  shall  this 
captain  in  the  Lord’s  army  do  ? Shall  he  turn  pale, 


136 


SERMON  V. 


and  say,  ‘ I know  I am  right,  but  I do  not  fight  with 
the  carnal  weapons  of  human  reason  and  science  V So 
did  not  Paul  on  Mars7  Hill ; so  did  he  not  with  the 
Corinthian  philosophers,  who  scoffed  at  the  doctrine  of 
a resurrection.  So  did  not  the  early  bishops  of  the 
Church,  when  Novatius  and  the  Gnostics,  when  Pela- 
gius  and  Arius  lifted  their  deadly  weapons  against  the 
gospel.  So  did  not  the  great  leaders  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. To  him,  who  seriously  fears,  that  God  will  not 
bless  the  employment  of  learning  and  of  cultivated  mind 
to  defend  the  truths  revealed  in  his  word,  I think  it 
would  be  sufficient  to  cite  the  fact,  that,  if  great  errors 
have  sprung  from  men  of  great  learning,  it  is  by  the 
learned,  and  by  the  learned  alone,  that  those  strong 
defences  of  the  truth  have  been  formed,  which,  by  in- 
structing the  pastors  of  the  churches,  and  guarding 
them  from  subtle  and  plausible  error,  have,  through 
them,  guarded,  and  guided,  and  strengthened  the 
Church  of  God  herself.  We  refer  to  the  writings  of 
Augustine  against  Pelagius,  to  the  apologies  of  the 
Fathers,  and  to  the  galaxy  of  powerful  minds,  who,  in 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  so  enriched 
our  English  theological  literature. 

We  enforce  our  position,  by  presenting  an  additional 
consideration  from  the  arrangements  of  Providence. 

3.  The  great  variety  of  minds,  to  which  a minister  is 
to  preach,  creates  the  necessity  for  a great  variety  of 
mental  furniture  and  discipline.  We  have  seem  him  a 
student  of  truth  ; now  we  see  him  a student  of  sacred 
eloquence,  or  of  the  mode  of  presenting  truth ; for  it  is 
one  thing  to  know,  and  another  to  teach.  The  capa- 
city for  knowledge,  and  the  attainment  of  knowledge, 
will  not,  of  themselves,  give  that  aptness  to  teach,  which 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  137 

Paul  says,  should  distinguish  a bishop.  We  are  sure, 
that  with  a reflecting  mind,  we  should  have  no  differ- 
ence on  this  subject,  except  as  to  degrees.  For  what- 
ever prejudices  may  have  arisen  justly  against  wrong 
modes  of  instructing  in  eloquence,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  that  some  degree  of  instruction  in  it  is  important. 
This  must  be  admitted  fully,  the  instant  that  you  admit, 
that  no  man  ought  to  preach  the  gospel,  who  cannot 
speak  his  maternal  language  without  violating  the  most 
commonly  understood  rules  of  grammar,  or  without  the 
employment  of  such  rude  and  vulgar  terms,  as  shock 
every  person  of  true  refinement.  In  such  a case  you 
admit  the  whole  of  our  principle.  You  might  even  be 
opposed,  in  the  abstract,  to  human  learning  in  the  min- 
istry, and  especially  to  the  study  of  eloquence  ; but  you 
admit  here,  the  importance  of  instruction  in  grammar 
and  propriety  of  utterance,  which  are  two  of  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  eloquence.  The  difference  between  us, 
then,  can  only  be  this  ; that  you  want  two  of  the  lower 
branches  of  the  sacred  art, — we  want  to  have  the  whole 
range  of  its  power  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God  in 
the  salvation  of  souls  ; you  are  willing  to  have  the  un- 
systematic instruction  of  social  intercourse,  and  the 
accidental  cultivation  of  ordinary  observation, — we  de- 
sire the  regular,  efficient  instruction  which  will  secure 
its  end  most  surely  and  most  speedily. 

The  office  of  the  pulpit  is  threefold — instruction, 
conviction,  and  persuasion. 

And  shall  it  be  said,  that  in  every  school  save  that 
of  Christ,  none  should  presume  to  be  teachers  but  those 
who  are  well  taught ; that  every  science,  save  that  of 
the  very  Being  himself  who  made  all  science,  requires 

instructers  thoroughly  prepared  ; and  that  this  sublim- 
12* 


138 


SERMON  V. 


est,  deepest,  richest,  most  important  of  all,  may  be 
taught  to  the  world  by  the  most  superficial  and  indolent? 
No,  none  would  maintain  that ; none  would  assert,  that  it 
is  possible  for  any  one  to  present  the  scheme  of  truth,  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures,  in  all  its  dimensions,  in  all  its 
internal  harmony  of  parts,  and  all  its  exterior  harmony 
with  man’s  nature  and  state,  and  with  the  visible  part 
of  creation,  without  much  careful  and  well-directed 
study  of  the  Scriptures  themselves.  The  question, 
really  dividing  us,  might  be,  whether  or  not  the  study 
of  any  thing  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Bible  itself  were 
necessary.  To  resolve  this,  we  must  revert  again  to 
the  fact,  that  this  revelation  is  made  in  two  languages 
foreign  to  us ; and  besides  that,  is  couched  under  the 
peculiarities  of  foreign  customs,  geography,  proverbs, 
poetry,  imagery,  institutions,  on  which  information  is 
to  be  sought  for  from  other  sources,  and  from  new 
channels  of  information,  which  the  providence  of  God 
is  continually  opening  to  the  diligent  students  of  his 
word.  To  take  advantage  of  these,  and  to  bring  out 
of  his  treasure  new  things,  the  teacher  of  divine  truth 
must  be  something  more  than  simply  a student  of  the 
Bible.  And  again;  the  Bible  contains  a system  of 
moral  philosophy  to  be  applied  to  all  the  details  of  life, 
to  all  the  complicated  rights,  interests,  employments 
and  relations  of  mankind.  And  shall  one,  entirely 
ignorant  of  those  relations,  employments,  and  interests, 
pretend  to  guide  the  conscience  of  the  world  ? Shall 
men,  learned  in  the  history  of  mankind,  in  the  works 
of  God,  in  the  principles  of  moral  government,  be  taught 
by  those  who  appear  ridiculous  in  every  attempt  to 
illustrate  God’s  word  from  his  works  ? Or  will  it  be 
said,  that  all  that  rich  source  of  illustration  is  to  be  ex- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  139 

eluded  from  the  instructions  of  the  pulpit  ? Has  Paley’s 
Natural  Theology,  have  Chalmers’  Astronomical  Ser- 
mons, been  of  no  use  to  the  Church?  We  plead  for 
learning  in  the  ministry. 

Such  learning  as  comprehends  a wide,  profound,  and 
harmonious  view  of  revealed  truths,  such  as  sees  the 
connexion  of  those  truths  with  all  the  great  temporal 
interests  of  man,  and  with  all  the  profoundest  subjects 
of  human  research.  We  want  instruction  not  only  for 
the  ignorant  and  the  devout,  but  also  for  the  learned 
and  the  indifferent.  We  desire  to  see  men  attracted  by 
the  sublimity  and  simplicity  of  the  gospel  fairly  pre- 
sented, to  listen  to  the  statement  of  its  claims  upon  their 
hearts. 

But  the  word  of  God  is  given  also  for  conviction. 
Here  we  advance  to  a higher  function  of  the  ministry. 
Instruction  contemplates  men  as  willing  learners ; but 
convictions  refers  to  a hostile  attitude.  The  minister 
is  to  break  in  upon  the  agreeable  slumbers  of  conscience, 
and  arouse  her  to  the  painful  task  of  reproach  and  con- 
demnation. A Nathan  is  to  sound  in  royal  ears,  “ Thou 
art  the  man  — a John  to  stand  in  high  places,  and  say, 
“ It  is  not  lawful  for  thee.”  Sin  is  to  be  rebuked,  not 
in  the  style  of  the  Satirists,  simply  reproving  one  or 
another  form  of  outward  vice,  but  ’ nations  are  to  be 
called  upon  to  repent,  like  Nineveh ; the  deep  depravity 
of  the  heart  is  to  be  exposed,  the  fearful  position  of  man 
as  a rebel  is  to  be  demonstrated,  the  mad  career  of  the 
world  is  to  be  stopped,  the  voice  of  its  mirth  is  to  be 
hushed,  and  one  profound  and  universal  sentiment  of 
self-condemnation  and  fear  is  to  seize  the  human  family. 
And  this  is  to  be  effected  through  the  gospel-ministry. 
But  that  ministry  must  be  occupied  by  bolder  men,  and 


140 


SERMON  V. 


abler  men,  and  holier  men  than  we  are.  And  not  only 
the  pulpit,  but  the  mighty  energies  of  the  press  are  to 
be  called  into  action,  to  make  the  world  sensible  of  its 
true  condition,  and  of  its  need  of  the  gospel.  The  false 
views  of  human  character,  and  of  life,  contained  in  the 
current  literature  and  philosophy  of  the  day,  are  to  be 
proved  false ; the  veil  thrown  over  the  eyes  of  con- 
science is  to  be  torn  away,  and  thunder-peals  are  to  be 
constantly  sounding  in  her  sleeping  ears.  God  has 
promised  it,  and  the  day  is  hastening.  But  first  in  the 
rank  of  the  means  of  accomplishing  it,  is  the  elevation 
of  the  standard  of  ministerial  qualifications.  The  grasp 
of  the  Church  must  be  bolder,  her  aim  higher.  She 
must  have  Augustines  and  Chrysostoms,  whose  elo- 
quent and  holy  appeals  can  reach  the  highest  minds, 
and,  reaching,  can  disturb  and  convince  of  sin  ; Pauls, 
who  can  plead  before  those  whom  talent  or  station  ex- 
alts above  the  reach  of  ordinary  minds,  and,  pleading, 
can  make  them  tremble  before  God ; sacred  orators 
who  have  comprehended  the  logic  of  revelation,  and 
can  apply  it  to  bring  the  whole  guilty  race,  high  and 
low,  learned  and  ignorant,  self-condemned  before  God. 

Another  function  of  the  ministry  is  persuasion.  The 
power  of  persuasion  depends  on  many  natural  qualifi- 
cations, but  much  more  on  their  proper  cultivation. 
This  may,  perhaps,  seem  to  some  a bold  proposition,  as 
applied  to  the  regeneration  of  the  human  heart ; for  it 
is  easy  to  take  such  a view  of  the  efficiency  of  divine 
power,  and  to  entertain  so  jealous  a regard  for  its  sa- 
cred prerogative,  as  to  make  it  even  blasphemous  to 
speak  of  the  power  of  human  persuasion,  as  having  any 
tendency  to  renew  the  soul  in  holiness ; or  to  speak  of 
the  training  of  the  schools,  as  in  any  degree  calculated 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  141 

to  augment  the  success  of  a minister  in  winning  souls 
to  Christ.  To  all  this  sentiment,  however  much  we 
respect  the  piety  that  originates,  we  cannot  the  less 
deprecate  the  ignorance  that  encourages  it,  and  the  ten- 
dency which  it  has  to  limit  the  usefulness  of  the  gospel 
ministry.  We  must  content  ourselves  here  with  deny- 
ing its  truth  and  justness,  rather  than  with  proving  its 
falseness.  It  appears  to  us  self-evident,  that  God  has 
established  a connection  between  the  imparted  energies 
of  his  quickening  Spirit,  and  a certain  adaptedness  in 
the  instrument,  just  as  truly  as  between  the  quickening 
energies  of  his  physical  power,  and  the  more  or  less 
skilful  employment  of  agricultural  implements.  And 
to  deny  this,  is  to  declare,  that  the  most  slovenly  and 
disgusting  manner  in  a preacher,  the  most  harsh  and 
grating  pronunciation,  the  most  absurd  jumbling  of 
figures  of  rhetoric,  the  most  ridiculous  miscalling  of 
men  and  things,  is  as  fit  an  instrument  for  converting 
souls,  as  the  eloquence  of  Whitefield.  Oh ! no ; we 
need  not  defend  this  position,  that  the  art  of  persuasion 
is  one  of  the  great  instruments  appointed  of  God  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world, — an  art  for  which  we  have 
the  faculties  by  birth,  which  require  to  be  developed 
by  culture,  and  which  are  capable  of  an  indefinite  de- 
gree of  cultivation. 

This  holy  art  of  teaching,  convincing,  persuading, 
demands  habits  of  severe  study  and  discipline.  The 
work  of  the  ministry  is  pre-eminently  an  intellectual 
work,  requiring  the  highest  efforts  of  mind,  and  giving 
scope  to  all  its  faculties.  And  we  are  persuaded,  that 
many,  who  entered  it  with  a wrong  estimate  of  the  im- 
portance of  preparatory  study,  have  since  found  their 
mistake,  when  it  was  too  late  to  provide  a remedy.  In- 


142 


SERMON  V. 


tellectual  discouragement,  and  dull  monotony,  in  his 
work,  is  now  the  painful  lot  of  many  a pastor  who 
spends  a week  of  active  employment,  but  not  in  such  a 
preparation  for  the  pulpit  as  enlarges,  and  liberalizes, 
and  refreshes  his  own  mind.  He  sees  every  subject  in 
the  same  light  from  week  to  week,  turns  over  his  Bible, 
and  finds  everywhere  the  same  texts  suggesting  to  his 
mind  the  same  trains  of  thought,  and  the  very  same 
phrases.  He  has  refused  to  acquaint  himself  with  the 
varied  stores  of  knowledge  that  God  placed  within  his 
reach ; he  has  neglected  to  discipline  and  develope  the 
higher  and  richer  faculties  of  his  mind ; and  now  he 
reaps  the  bitter  fruits  of  his  ignorance,  or  of  his  sincere 
but  misguided  zeal  for  God’s  honor.  And  I will  not 
venture  to  say,  how  much  affinity  I think  there  is,  be- 
tween intellectual  and  spiritual  dulness  and  monotony. 

But  in  all  this  we  have  spoken  only  of  pastors,  be- 
cause it  was  concerning  them  that  we  have  imagined 
that  we  should  have  to  contend  with  the  greatest 
amount  of  avowed  or  secret  opposition  to  a learned 
ministry.  Now  we  apprehend  no  such  objections  in 
reference  to  translations  of  the  Scriptures  for  the  heath- 
en ; and  to  the  writers  of  comment  ories  and  works  of 
divinity  for  the  Church  and  for  her  pastors. 

There  is  a fourth  consideration  to  enforce  our  views. 

4.  The  pastor  is  to  superintend  important,  extended, 
and  complicated  interests,  which  require  both  solid 
learning  and  sound  discipline  of  mind. 

The  spiritual  interests  of  individuals,  with  all  the 
variety  of  their  characters,  attainments,  and  circumstan- 
ces, and  their  complicated  and  delicate  cases  of  con- 
science ; the  spiritual  interests  of  families,  of  the  young; 
the  care  of  his  own  Church,  the  general  interests  of 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  143 

education,  the  general  interests  of  the  Church  ; a know- 
ledge of  the  actual  position  of  his  fellow  men,  and  of 
the  bearing  of  the  literature  and  political  movements 
of  the  day  upon  the  interests  of  Christ’s  kingdom  ; a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  increasingly  important 
efforts  of  the  Church  to  extend  the  gospel  to  distant 
nations,  with  the  relations  of  these  efforts  to  their  institu- 
tions and  to  the  vairous  civil  governments  ; the  forma- 
tion of  a sound  literature  to  supersede  the  corrupt 
influence  of  that  which  impiety  and  scepticism  have 
generated  ; — these  are  among  the  duties  which  God  in 
his  providence  assigns  to  the  gospel-minister.  For,  if 
he  has  them  not  in  charge,  no  one  has  ; and,  if  he  has, 
then  we  strenuously  maintain,  that  he  cannot  know 
too  much  of  man  as  he  has  been,  and  of  man  as  he  is  ; 
of  the  history  of  the  world,  and  of  the  history  of  Chris 
tianity ; of  the  history  of  his  country,  of  its  political 
condition,  its  literature,  and  its  institutions. 

But  we  have  proposed  a more  distinct  reference  to 
the  objections,  which  may  be  made  to  these  views.  It 
may  be  said,  that  they  promote  pride  and  dependence 
on  man.  We  reply,  not  necessarily.  An  ignorant 
man,  raised  to  a station  of  influence,  is  in  much  greater 
danger  of  pride,  than  a man  of  learning.  Ignorance  is 
no  security  against  pride  ; nor  are  learning  and  piety 
incompatible,  as  has  been  shown  in  numberless  instan- 
ces. And  as  to  dependence  upon  human  power,  was 
there  ever  a case  in  which  there  was  more  danger  than 
in  that  of  Paul  ? His  gifts  and  endowments  were  of 
the  first  order,  and  the  Church  was  in  danger  of  pla- 
cing undue  confidence  in  them ; yet  the  Head  of  the 
Church  conferred  them  on  him. 

It  may  be  said,  that  Paul  declared  that  he  re - 


144 


SERMON  V. 


nounced  all  dependence  on  hum, an  learning  and  elo- 
quence. The  same  kind  of  distinction  must  be  made 
here,  as  in  the  cases  of  fasting,  prayer,  and  alms-giving. 
When  our  Savior  commands  us  not  to  pray  in  public 
to  be  seen  of  men,  he  means  not  to  prevent  public 
prayer,  but  to  correct  its  abuse.  Paul  employed  true 
philosophy  and  true  eloquence,  in  opposition  to  the  vain 
systems  and  the  showy  declamation,  which  were  the 
boast  of  the  Grecian  schools  of  his  day.  Surely  he 
would  never  have  objected  to  the  employment  of  the 
simple  and  manly  eloquence  of  Demosthenes  in  preach- 
ing the  gospel ; surely  he  would  not  have  required  of 
that  orator,  if  he  had  lived  in  Paul’s  day,  had  been 
converted  and  brought  to  preach  the  gospel,  to  employ 
in  the  pulpit  less  good  sense,  less  knowledge  of  the  hu- 
man heart,  than  he  had  used  in  the  forum.  Paul  de- 
termined to  know  nothing  but  a crucified  Savior  as  the 
theme  of  his  sermons,  and  not  to  speak  in  the  enticing 
words  of  man’s  wisdom ; but  he,  nevertheless,  availed 
himself  of  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  Jewish  law, 
and  of  the  human  heart ; of  his  acquaintance  with  the 
great  principles  of  natural  theology,  with  heathen  poets 
and  heathen  philosophers,  to  reach  the  consciences  and 
hearts  of  his  hearers. 

It  may  further  be  said,  that  human  learning  has  no 
tendency  to  convert  the  soul . This  is,  at  last,  the  im- 
portant objection  ; an  objection  which,  perhaps,  often 
recurs  to  the  sincere  friend  of  ministerial  learning. 
The  work  of  conversion  seems  so  exclusively  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  no  possible  connexion 
can  be  seen  between  it  and  the  study  of  the  classics, 
of  mathematics,  and  of  philosophy.  Perhaps,  too,  our 
theological  students  themselves  often  lose  sight  of  this 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


145 


connexion ; and  just  so  far  their  studies  benefit  their 
minds  at  the  expense  of  their  hearts. 

Let  us  ask  ourselves,  whether  in  this  case  we  do  not 
exaggerate  the  truth  ? It  is  true,  that  God  converts 
the  soul ; but  does  he  do  it  by  means,  or  without 
means  ? and,  if  by  means,  does  he  make  use  of  human 
faculties,  and  of  human  language,  or  not  ? If  he  makes 
use  of  human  language,  then  we  should  say,  from  the 
analogy  of  all  his  works,  that  the  more  perfectly  lan- 
guage is  employed,  the  more  calculated  is  it  to  secure 
the  end.  I appeal  to  the  common  sense  of  the  objecting 
Christian,  on  two  of  the  simplest  elements  of  eloquence. 
Perspicuity  is  one.  Now,  suppose  that  a very  pious 
preacher  speaks  of  the  love  of  Christ,  but  utters  him- 
self so  obscurely  as  not  to  make  himself  understood  ; 
and  another,  of  equal  piety,  explains  this  great  subject 
clearly  ; which  is  most  likely  to  be  employed  of  God 
for  converting  men  ? Might  not  the  one  as  well  speak 
in  the  Hebrew  language  ? And  here  we  reply  to  the 
very  plausible  objection, — “ of  what  use  can  the  mathe- 
matics be  to  the  theological  student  ?”  Perhaps  of  lit- 
tle or  none,  in  their  application  ; but  their  study  seems 
to  promote  exactly  what  we  now  have  referred  to,  pre- 
cision of  thought,  and  perspicuity  of  language.  Again, 
suppose  a man  to  speak  of  the  wrath  of  God  in  a dull 
and  sleepy  manner ; and  another  to  thunder  in  the  ears 
of  the  careless,  as  we  may  suppose  Baxter  and  Alleine 
to  have  done  ; is  it  not  evident,  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
may  be  expected  to  reach  the  heart  more  effectually  by 
the  one,  than  by  the  other  ? And  yet,  although  the 
professor  of  eloquence  cannot  give  a soul,  he  can  teach 
the  soul  to  utter  its  sentiments  in  the  most  impressive 
way.  He  can  teach  his  pupil  to  put  away  the  unnat- 

13 


146 


SERMON  V. 


ural  and  unoratorical  habits  that  he  may  have  con- 
tracted. 

On  this  important  topic,  we  carry  you  back  to  the 
apostolic  college.  Our  blessed  Redeemer  opened  a 
kind  of  peripatetic,  or  itinerant  theological  school. 
And  never  did  men  possess  such  a teacher,  and  never 
were  such  advances  made,  as  under  that  instruction. 
This  is  evident,  when  we  compare  their  sentiments,  as 
expressed  in  their  letters,  with  those  for  which  Christ 
so  often  rebuked  them  in  the  beginning  of  their  studies. 
But  if  learning  was  not  necessary,  why  not  send  them 
out  as  soon  as  they  were  called  ? Why  must  they  be 
three  years  at  school,  under  such  a teacher,  equivalent 
to  ten  times  as  many  years  under  others  ? It  may  be 
said, — “ they  were  to  be  witnesses  of  his  life  and  works ; 
they  were  to  be  disciplined  in  piety.”  All  true ; and 
yet  equally  true  is  it,  that  they  were  all  this  time  rapid- 
ly learning.  And  yet,  even  that  was  not  sufficient ; 
they  had  not  learning  enough,  when  leaving  the  school 
of  Christ ; and  the  Holy  Ghost  himself,  by  miraculous 
power,  must  complete  their  instruction,  and  place  them, 
in  some  respects,  among  the  most  learned  ; that  is,  by 
at  once  imparting  the  knowledge  of  ten  or  fourteen 
languages.  It  may  be  said,  too,  that  Christ  did  not 
teach  philosophy,  nor  pay  any  attention  to  intellectual 
discipline.  And  yet  it  is  well  worthy  of  notice,  that  the 
distinguished  apostle,  who  was  selected  to  preach  to  phi- 
losophers and  courtiers,  was  taken  from  the  schools. 

But  to  refute  this  objection  by  fact,  let  us  look  at 
modern  times,  and  ask,  what  class  of  learned  men  have 
been  more  blessed  in  their  ministry  than  Doddridge, 
and  Watts,  and  Whitefield,  and  Wesley,  of  England ; 
Edwards,  and  Bellamy,  and  Dwight  of  America  ? 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


147 


Who  has  filled  higher  places  of  usefulness  than  the 
learned  Luther,  Melancthon,  Calvin,  and  Knox?  £ Bun- 
yan,’  it  may  be  said,  c is  an  exception  no,  he  is  a con- 
firmation, for  he  had  v/hat  many  cannot  now  acquire 
but  in  part,  even  by  the  severest  study.  If  all  unedu- 
cated men  can  write  a Pilgrim’s  Progress,  our  argument 
loses  much  of  its  power.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
Fuller.  It  was  the  solid  learning  and  mental  disci- 
pline of  those  men  and  not  their  ignorance,  that  God 
employed  for  the  good  of  his  Church  ; and  we  are  im- 
pressed by  the  fact,  that  the  peculiar  dealings  of  God 
with  men,  who  were  to  accomplish  extraordinary  good, 
secured  uncommon  discipline,  both  of  mind  and  heart 
So  it  was  with  Moses,  with  the  forerunner,  and  even 
with  our  Lord  ; so  with  Daniel,  Ezekiel,  and  Jeremiah. 
They  were  taken  to  high  places  of  the  universe,  from 
whence  they  could  catch  glorious  views  of  God  and 
his  plans.  Oh  that  our  theological  schools  may  be 
like  their  sacred  retreats,  whence,  by  profound  anci 
tranquil  reflection,  by  earnest  prayer,  by  special  inter- 
course with  God,  by  large  and  lofty  views  of  their  com- 
mission, our  future  ministers  may  be  prepared  for  going 
forth  to  move,  to  teach,  to  bless,  and  save  the  world  ! 
The  necessity  of  such  institutions  was  felt  under  the 
Old  Testament,  and  led  to  forming  the  schools  of  the 
prophets.  They  were  early  revived  under  the  New 
Testament,  perhaps  in  Alexandria,  soon  after  the  death 
of  the  apostles.  They  are  now  the  hope  of  the  Church, 
and  must  become  more  and  more  the  object  of  her  pray- 
ers and  affections.  We  have  said,  perhaps,  too  much 
upon  the  necessity  of  learning ; not  too  much  abso- 
lutely, but  so  much  as  to  expose  ourselves  to  the  dan- 
ger of  appearing  to  estimate  it  above  piety. 


148 


SERMON  V. 


But  this  brings  us  to  our 

SECOND  PART. 

We  maintain  with  equal  earnestness  that  the  Church 
must  secure  a pious  ministry.  “ The  same  commit 
thou  to  faithful  men,”  says  Paul  to  Timothy,  men 
faithful  to  God  and  to  his  Church ; faithful  to  their 
trust  and  to  the  souls  of  men.  And  this  faithfulness 
demands  for  its  first  and  its  last  element — piety.  A 
learned  ministry,  without  piety,  is  even  a greater 
curse  than  an  ignorant  one.  To  prove  that  every 
minister  ought  to  be  a converted  man, — nay,  a man 
of  uncommon  piety,  as  much  in  moral  stature  above 
his  brethren,  as  Saul  was  in  physical  proportions 
above  his ; — to  prove  that  a minister  must  be  a man 
of  true  piety,  is  to  prove  that  our  bodies  need  life,  that 
without  his  soul,  man  is  but  a corpse ; that  without 
the  sun,  the  world  is  in  darkness  and  misery.  The 
men,  who  assume  the  sacred  office  without  a renewed 
heart,  are  utterly  unacquainted,  both  with  the  nature 
of  its  duties,  and  with  its  awful  responsibilities.  We 
know  that  God  may  have  converted  many  souls  by 
the  preaching  of  unconverted  men ; but  his  gracious 
overruling  of  human  depravity  should  never  be  abused 
by  man,  to  encourage  himself  in  sin. 

But  there  is  no  room  for  reasoning  on  the  subject. 
He,  that  believes  in  the  reality  and  universal  necessity 
of  conversion,  must  acknowledge,  that  ministers  are 
included  in  that  all ; and  must  admit  its  importance 
above  all  to  the  minister.  Every  branch  of  his  duties, 
every  issue  of  his  ministry,  bears  prominent  on  its 
front  the  urgent  necessity  of  great  piety.  Whether 
we  consider  him  as  coming  from  God  to  man,  or  as 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


149 


turning  from  man  in  his  infatuation,  and  man  in  his 
feebleness,  to  supplicate  God  in  his  behalf; — whether 
we  consider  the  nature  of  the  subjects  he  is  to  teach 
as  pre-eminently  matters  of  experience,  or  the  power 
of  example ; — whether  we  look  at  time  and  its  trials, 
or  at  the  judgment  and  its  eternal  issues ; — we  see 
every  thing  urging  upon  the  ministers  of  Christ  piety, 
eminent  piety,  a close  resemblance  to  their  Master,  the 
intimacy  of  holy  communion  with  him,  the  power  of  a 
holy  sympathy  with  him,  and  the  efficiency  of  prevail- 
ing intercession  with  the  Father. 

The  ambassador  of  Christ  goes  forth,  from  the  me- 
diatorial throne,  chosen,  qualified,  commissioned,  to 
a world,  ignorant  of  God,  of  his  grace,  and  of  his 
wrath,  blind  alike  to  his  holy  law  and  to  his  scheme 
of  mercy,  blinded  and  deluded  by  a subtle  spirit.  He 
is  to  plead  and  remonstrate  against  that  world’s  rebel- 
lion ; but  how  shall  he  do  it  sincerely  and  successfully 
if  his  heart  sympathizes  not  with  the  government  of 
Jehovah  ? How  absurd  as  well  as  hypocritical  is  the 
eloquence  of  a man,  who  has  never  laid  down  his  own 
rebellious  weapons,  never  yet  even  acknowledged  his 
own  rebellion,  and  yet  pretends  with  tears  and  solemn 
entreaties  to  persuade  his  fellow  men  to  repent ! The 
more  eloquent  and  the  more  pathetic  he  is,  the  more 
absurd  ; and  every  convert  under  such  preaching  is 
but  a witness  against  his  own  impenitence.  The  man, 
who  proclaims  to  this  wicked  world  the  offer  of  par- 
don, must  deeply  feel  the  evil  of  its  rebellion,  must 
earnestly  sympathize  with  the  holy  government  of 
God  ; sin  must  be  the  burden  of  his  own  soul ; he  must 
fear  that  wrath  which  he  announces  in  words  of  terror 
to  others ; for,  perhaps,  there  is  no  infidelity  so  per- 

13* 


150 


SERMON  V. 


fectly  effective,  as  that  which  is  concealed  under 
solemn  and  pompous  words  about  the  wrath  of  God, 
where  the  preacher’s  soul  is  not  moved  at  the  time 
in  view  of  that  terrific  reality.  It  accustoms  men  to 
feel,  that  it  is  a trifle ; while  they  escape  the  reproach 
of  their  own  conscience  by  appearing  to  acknowledge 
its  reality.  Yes,  I may  say,  that  it  is  one  of  the  grand 
impediments  to  the  progress  of  religion,  that  so  many, 
professing  to  be  its  ministers,  have  accustomed  the 
people  to  be  as  much  unaffected  by  it,  as  they  are 
themselves.  They  perpetuate  the  dreadful  pestilence 
of  religious  insensibility  by  mere  contagion ; and  under 
them  grows  up  the  form  of  godliness  without  its  power. 
God  deliver  us  from  heartless  ministers  ! The  man 
who  means  to  awaken  the  conscience  of  this  slumber- 
ing world  must  know  much  of  the  holiness  and  the 
terrors  of  God’s  law,  and  have  awful  views  of  his  ma- 
jesty ; he  must  have  studied  with  his  heart  in  Geth- 
semane  and  on  Calvary ; he  must  know  the  meaning 
of  that  exclamation,  “ If  these  things  be  done  in  the 
green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry !” 

He,  who  would  meet  the  inquiring  soul  and  lead  it 
to  Christ,  must  know  the  way  by  experience.  Here 
the  power  of  the  heart  is  peculiarly  employed  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  He,  who  would  talk  profitably  of  re- 
pentance, must  talk  of  it  experimentally.  He,  who 
would  lead  the  young  convert  in  the  first  steps  of  his 
Christian  walk,  must  talk  like  an  old  traveller  of  a 
road,  that  he  knows  by  having  traversed  it ; he  must 
meet  with  something  like  parental  sympathy,  the  fears, 
the  joys,  the  hopes,  the  doubts,  of  the  babe  in  Christ. 
He,  who  would  be  a leader  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 
must  be  an  example  of  all  he  teaches ; he  must  not 


THE  CHISTIAN  MINISTRY.  151 

say,  Go  to  the  cross  for  pardon/  but,  ‘Come  to  the 
cross.'  He  must  know  the  snares  of  Satan,  that  he 
may  point  them  to  others  ; and  he  must  learn  them 
from  his  own  heart.  He  must  be  taught  of  God  to 
teach  God's  word.  He  must  know  the  trials  peculiar 
to  Christians  in  order  to  sympathize  with  his  flock ; 
and  when  called  to  the  common  trials  of  life,  he  must 
show  how  to  sustain  them.  How  powerful  were  the 
appeals  of  Paul  to  the  Church  when  he  could  say, 
“ Follow  us  as  we  follow  Christ !" 

The  providence  of  God  is  evidently  preparing  the 
Church  for  a wider  and  more  important  field  of  action, 
than  she  has  occupied  since  the  apostolic  days  ; and 
none,  save  men  of  an  apostolic  spirit,  will  be  prepared 
to  guide  her  in  the  arduous  conflict  and  the  mighty 
work  that  lies  before  her. 

And  if  this  aspect  of  the  ministry  presents  the  neces- 
sity of  piety,  how  much  more  so  does  the  other  in 
which  we  behold  the  minister  going  from  men  to  God, 
to  intercede  in  their  behalf.  It  is  well  said  by  a French 
divine,  “ More  than  half  a minister's  work  must  be 
accomplished  in  his  closet : it  is  an  affair  between  him 
and  his  God."  Each  Christian  must  be  a man  of  prayer ; 
but  chiefly  he,  who  undertakes  to  negotiate  between 
God  and  man,  in  the  matter  of  salvation.  The  life  of, 
all  our  services,  the  power  of  our  appeals,  the  light  of 
our  instructions,  the  efficacy  of  our  consolations,  the 
savor  of  our  example, — all  depend  upon  the  degree 
of  our  communion  with  God.  We  are  bound  to  live 
in  view  of  both  worlds,  to  cherish  the  sentiments  of 
heaven,  while  we  live  on  earth  ; we  are  like  ambas- 
sadors to  a rebel  province,  who  by  constant  corres- 
pondence with  the  sovereign  and  his  loyal  courtiers, 


152 


SERMON  V. 


preserve  ourselves  from  contracting  the  spirit  of  rebel- 
lion, while  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  wretched 
condition  of  our  rebel  fellow-subjects.  And  where 
does  the  pastor  tread  more  closely  in  the  steps  of  the 
Great  High  Priest  than  when,  with  the  names  of  his 
people  on  his  heart,  he  is  before  the  sprinkled  mercy- 
seat  ? The  Church  ought  to  look  with  much  anxiety 
to  this  point;  that  her  ministers  be  men  of  prayer, 
of  eminent  prayerful  ness.  The  promise  concerning 
the  days  of  her  prosperity  is — “ 1 have  set  watchmen 
upon  thy  walls,  O Jerusalem ! which  shall  never  hold 
their  peace,  day  nor  night”  The  divine  direction 
hence  is — u Ye,  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord” — the 
Lord’s  remembrancers — “keep  not  silence,  and  give 
him  no  rest,  till  he  establish  and  till  he  make  Jerusalem 
a praise  in  the  earth.” 

But  1 must  close  this  too  protracted  exercise,  by 
bringing  the  subject  to  this  practical  conclusion  : — 
that  the  Church  has  a most  important  part  to  act  in 
securing  both  the  learning  and  the  piety  of  her  min- 
istry. As  to  the  first,  she  is  to  sustain  her  theological 
colleges,  and  demand  of  them  an  efficient  course  of  in- 
tellectual training.  As  to  the  second,  let  her  distinctly 
see  that  it  is  that  alone  which  makes  learning  valuable, 
and  that,  in  past  ages,  Satan  has  perpetually  gained  an 
advantage,  by  making  her  go  into  one  extreme  or  the 
other ; — that  of  having  learning  without  piety,  or  piety 
without  learning.  And  let  her  chiefly  see  what  part 
she  has  to  act  in  securing  the  piety  of  her  ministers. 

We  may  specify  several  distinct  duties ; — and  first, 
prayer  for  unconverted  youth.  In  America,  we  are 
made  to  feel  the  necessity  of  this,  and  are  taught  by 
Providence  to  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  153 

would  send  forth  laborers  into  the  harvest.  We  have 
not  ministers  enough  to  meet  our  spiritual  wants,  and 
the  wants  of  the  Missionary  societies.  Driven,  there- 
fore, to  look  to  God  in  behalf  of  our  unconverted  and 
educated  youth,  we  have  set  apart  days  of  prayer  for 
this  object.  And  the  Lord  has  signally  answered  our 
requests.  Let  British  Churches  remember,  that  there 
are  not  ministers  enough  to  supply  the  tenth  part  of  the 
world  with  pastoral  instructions.  But  let  them  chiefly 
remember  that  we  are  deficient  not  in  numbers  only,  but 
also  in  ministerial  graces.  We  must  give  the  Lord  no 
rest,  until  his  ministers  love  one  another  more,  are  less 
given  to  sects  and  more  to  souls ; until  they  come  to 
greater  simplicity  and  activity,  and  power  and  efficiency. 

We  suggest  also  special  prayer  for  theological  col- 
leges. We  urge  the  importance  of  exalting  the  stand- 
ard of  piety  before  young  Christians,  by  the  example 
of  the  Church,  showing  those,  who  are  to  preach  the 
gospel,  how  to  live  for  Christ.  Every  day  that  the 
candidate  for  the  ministry  passes  under  your  roof,  every 
time  he  sits  at  your  board,  he  is  receiving  impressions 
which  may  affect  his  ministry.  He  learns  from  your 
remarks  on  ministers  and  sermons,  what  the  Church 
expects  of  both. 

Christian  friends ! who  revere  the  memory  of  her 
whom  the  Head  of  the  Church  raised  up  in  a time  of 
spiritual  death  and  darkness,  to  encourage  and  even 
guide  his  faithful  ministers  ; remember  this  college, — 
her  Benjamin, — the  child  of  her  right  hand.  It  needs 
your  pecuniary  aid  ; with  that  aid,  it  may  take  its  proper 
position  amid  the  kindred  institutions,  that  are  doing  so 
much  to  raise  the  qualifications  of  the  sacred  ministry. 
It  was  liberally,  nobly  endowed.  Every  thing  which 


154 


SERMON  V. 


that  heart  devised  was  planned  on  a broad  scale.  And 
yet  a college  is  not  the  result  of  the  labors  of  one  hand. 
It  is  enough  for  one  to  found  it ; posterity,  who  are  to 
reap  its  rich  advantages,  must  mature  and  perfect  it. 
To  accomplish  all  that  she  designed,  to  finish  what  she 
began,  requires  a spirit  of  equal  liberality  with  her  own. 
Who  has  her  spirit  ? who  counts  the  cause  of  Christ  all 
his  care,  as  she  did  ? who  is  prepared  to  tread  in  her 
path  of  self-denial  and  faith  ? Who  sympathizes  witli 
her  zeal  for  God  and  the  Church?  Come,  brethren ! come 
to  our  help ; come,  I would  say,  to  her  help,  and  enable  the 
directors  of  the  college  to  execute  their  admirable  plans. 

But  important  as  these  plans  are,  they  respect  chiefly 
the  elevation  of  the  standard  of  learning  and  intellectual 
discipline  : for  the  other  and  higher  benefits,  they  look 
beyond  their  plans  to  the  sovereign  grace  of  God,  to 
Jesus,  the  Head  of  his  Church,  with  whom  is  the  residue 
of  the  Spirit.  And  to-day  they  commission  me  to  appeal 
to  your  hearts  in  behalf  of  the  college,  the  directors,  the 
pupils,  the  teachers.  Their  desire  is,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  be  the  great  teacher  here ; that  Jesus  would 
abide  with  them  by  that  Spirit^  that  he  would  teach 
them  the  preciousness  of  his  gospel,  and  how  to  preach  it. 

Christians  ! pray  much  for  this  school,  that  here  may 
be  trained  the  sons  of  thunder  and  the  sons  of  consola- 
tion. The  Church  should  look  with  deep  solicitude  to 
these  schools  of  the  prophets;  for  a perishing  world 
seems  to  cast  towards  them  an  imploring  look;  the 
perishing  heathen  are  crying  as  of  old — “ Come  over 
and  help  us.77  And  they  ask  for  spiritual  men,  men  of 
prayer,  of  faith,  of  zeal ; men,  in  a word,  whom  God 
shall  call,  commission,  and  bless. 

Brethren,  pray  for  the  College. 


SERMON  "V  1. 


THE  NATURE  AND  INFLUENCE  OF  MATEkjnal 
ASSOCIATIONS. 


“ And  they  brought  unto  him  also  infants , that  he 
would  touch  them . But  when  his  disciples  saw  it , 
they  rebuked  them.  But  Jesus  called  them  unto 
him , and  said , suffer  little  children  to  come  unto 
me , and  forbid  them  not ; for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  God.” — Luke  xviii.  15.  16. 

The  prince  of  darkness  has  fearfully  extended  his 
empire  over  the  whole  human  family ; and  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Prince  of  peace,  has  come  to  “ destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil,”  to  open  the  prison-door  to  the  cap- 
tive, and  let  the  prisoner  go  free.  He  has  come,  with 
the  voice  of  authority,  to  command  the  prisoner  to 
escape  from  bondage,  and,  with  the  voice  of  tender  invi- 
tation, to  entreat  him  to  leave  his  vassalage,  and  disown 
his  allegiance  to  Satan.  And  there  are  two  remarka- 
ble features  in  all  his  commands  and  invitations ; the 
one  is,  that  they  regard  all  classes  of  men,  without  re- 
spect to  any  of  the  distinctions,  that  pertain  to  the  pre- 
sent and  temporary  forms  of  society;  and  the  other 
feature  is,  that  they  extend  to  human  nature  in  every 
age  of  its  existence,  from  its  earliest  stages  and  its  first 
developments.  This  feature,  the  disciples  of  Christ  did 
not,  at  first,  understand ; they  supposed,  that  the  king- 


156 


SERMON  VI. 


dom,  which  our  Lord  had  come  to  establish,  was  of 
such  a nature,  that  it  required  the  full  maturity  of  the 
understanding  to  appreciate  its  advantages,  and  to  enter 
upon  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  Hence,  (as  you  may 
suppose  his  group  principally  to  have  consisted  of 
mothers,)  when  mothers,  obeying  that  maternal  instinct, 
which  often  is  more  wise  than  the  sound  deductions  of 
philosophy,  (sound  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  make  them,) 
— that  maternal  instinct  which  felt  for  the  little  ones, 
felt  their  helplessness  and  their  want,  and  had  learned 
the  power  and  goodness  of  the  great  Redeemer, — when 
they  drew  nigh,  and  presented  their  infants  to  him,  to 
come  within  the  blessed  sphere  of  his  benignity  and 
mercy,  the  disciples  interposed,  rejected  the  infants  and 
rebuked  the  mothers.  Rut  Jesus  said,  Suffer  these  little 
ones  to  come  to  me  ; let  no  man  forbid  them : the  king- 
dom, that  I am  establishing,  reaches  even  to  the  infan- 
tile state  of  human  existence ; little  children,  too,  are 
to  be  the  objects  of  my  grace  and  of  my  redeeming 
power  : “ Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me.” 

The  first  duty,  that  devolves  upon  those  who  have 
the  care  of  human  beings,  is  of  course  physical ; it  per- 
tains to  the  animal,  the  material  part  of  human  nature, 
because  that  is  first  developed.  The  next  development 
is  unquestionably  moral ; the  child  begins  to  feel , before 
he  manifests  much  understanding.  It  is  unquestiona- 
ble, that  the  conscience  is  developed  much  earlier,  than 
they,  whose  observation  has  not  been  specifically  di- 
rected to  this  point,  are  prepared  to  believe.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  heart  is  very  early  developed  ; and  God 
seems,  in  the  very  manner  of  the  development  of  the 
faculties  of  human  nature  at  successive  periods,  to  indi- 
cate the  kind  of  care,  the  kind  of  instruction,  and  the 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


157 


kind  of  influence,  which  should  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
human  nature.  Last  of  all  seems  to  come  the  higher 
range  of  the  intellectual  powers. 

The  first  duty,  touching  the  character  and  interest 
of  man  as  a moral  being,  is  to  bring  him  under  the 
moral  government  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  first  duty  with 
the  mind  of  man  is  to  make  him  understand  and  feel 
his  want  and  his  guilt  as  a sinner.  The  first  and  most 
important  lesson,  that  a mother  can  convey  to  the  heart 
and  the  understanding  of  her  child,  is,  that  he  is  the 
degenerate  shoot  of  a degenerate  vine,  and  that  in  Christ 
alone  is  his  help.  His  little  mind  should  begin  to  un- 
derstand first  the  story  of  redeeming  and  incarnate 
love — the  history  of  Him  who  became  an  infant,  and 
then  the  u Man  of  sorrows,”  and  then  the  bleeding  Vic- 
tim, and  then  the  living  Intercessor  and  the  omnipotent 
King,  to  raise  us  from  our  ruin ; and  the  first  attrac- 
tions of  the  little  heart,  beyond  the  father  and  the  mother 
that  begat  and  that  nurture,  should  be  to  the  great  Ben- 
efactor, that  has  come  to  redeem.  £ Suffer  your  little 
ones  to  come  to  me,’  said  Jesus : from  them  that  are 
indifferent,  and  from  them  that  have  objections  to  them, 
he  seems  to  turn  to  mothers,  and  say,  £ Bring  your  little 
ones  to  me.’ 

The  first  duty  to  man,  as  an  immortal  being  and  the 
subject  of  God’s  moral  government,  is  to  induce  him, 
just  as  rapidly  as  his  affections  and  will  are  developed, 
to  break  the  bands  that  bind  him  to  the  kingdom  of 
darkness,  and  to  bring  him,  an  intelligent  and  a volun- 
tary subject,  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to 
teach  him  to  love,  to  teach  him  to  obey,  to  teach  him  to 
serve  his  “ God  manifest  in  the  flesh.”  And  it  is  an 
interesting  object  of  investigation,  to  see  what  full  pro- 

14 


158 


SERMON  VI. 


vision  God  has  made  for  the  reclaiming  of  man  from 
his  apostacy,  the  introduction  and  the  conservation  of 
man  in  “ the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son” — and  that,  from 
the  earliest  period  of  his  existence. 

There  is  something  very  wonderful  in  the  family- 
constitution  ; there  is  something  in  it.  which  even  the 
Church  herself  has  not  fully  understood,  but  which 
many  indications  in  Providence  show  that  she  is  going 
to  understand  more  fully.  There  is  more  power  in  the 
family  constitution,  there  is  more  moral  power  in  a 
mother,  than  the  world  has  begun  to  conceive,  than 
even  Christian  mothers  have  yet  begun  fully  to  appre 
hend.  And,  as  they  advance  in  faith  on  God’s  promi- 
ses,— as  they  rise  in  strength  of  a holy  confidence,  that 
seizes  the  promise  of  an  unchanging  God, — as  they 
become  intelligent  in  those  great  purposes  of  his  moral 
government^  which  pertain  to  us,  and  which  are  essen- 
tial to  direct  us  in  the  right  discharge  of  duty, — we 
have  no  question  that  the  moral  power  of  the  mother 
will  rise ; and  just  as  far  as  we  get  away  from  Pagan- 
ism, and  all  its  degradation  of  the  female  sex,  just  as 
far  as  we  get  away  from  the  foolish  and  romantic  ideas 
of  woman,  that  prevailed  in  the  days  of  chivalry, — just 
so  far  shall  we  come  into  the  clear  and  glorious  light 
of  Christianity,  and  woman  will  be,  what  God  meant 
she  should  be  in  his  hand,  the  regenerator  of  the  human 
race. 

There  is  a peculiarity  in  the  maternal  feeling,  that 
no  man,  who  feels  himself  identified  with  the  interests 
of  the  human  race,  can  observe  without  himself  feeling 
the  deepest  interest.  There  is  something  in  a mother’s 
love,  that  cannot  have  been  unintended ; there  is  a rea- 
son for  that  peculiar  delicacy  and  tenderness — for  even 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


159 


that  tenderness  of  tone,  which  we  cannot  imitate  ; there 
is  a meaning  in  the  fact,  that  the  musical  scale  of  a 
mother’s  voice  is  pitched  differently  from  ours.  It  is 
one  of  God’s  great  instruments,  for  fitting  her  to  reach 
man  in  those  periods  of  his  existence,  when  every  thing 
is  tender  in  his  body  and  in  his  soul. 

There  is  an  affinity  between  the  feelings  of  a mother 
and  a child,  that  does  not  exist  in  kind  or  degree  be- 
tween the  father  and  the  child,  indicating  a peculiarity 
in  the  duty  and  a peculiarity  in  the  responsibility.  I 
may  say,  in  passing,  (because  I deem  it  of  importance,) 
that  perhaps  there  will  become,  for  a time,  extravagant, 
and  exaggerated,  and  unharmonious,  and  unauthorized 
views  of  the  duty  of  mothers,  and  that  fathers  will  for- 
get their  peculiar  station, — for  it  is  one  of  great  pecu- 
liarity, and  it  is  one  of  equal  responsibility  different  in 
kind.  I wish  not  to  encourage  any  exaggerated  view  ; 
I wish  not  to  roll  more  burdens  upon  the  tender  sex, 
than  God  has  placed ; but  my  specific  duty  will  lead  me 
peculiarly  to  speak,  and  alone  to  speak,  of  maternal  duty. 

There  is  something  in  the  entire  helplessness  of  hu- 
man nature,  in  the  entire  dependence  of  human  nature, — 
there  is  something  in  the  imitative  propensities  of  chil- 
dren,— there  is  something  in  that  perfect  confidence, 
that  characterizes  children, — which  fits  them  to  come 
so  fully,  so  entirely,  under  the  kind  and  powerful  in- 
fluence of  the  enlightened  and  sanctified  maternal 
heart ; and  the  noblest  object  on  the  footstool  of  God  is 
a Christian  mother,  moulding  human  nature  in  the  first 
stages  of  its  earthly  and  of  its  immortal  existence.  Oh ! 
that  I might  have  light  from  God,  to  help  even  mothers 
this  day  to  estimate  their  high  calling  and  their  holy 
commission. 


160 


SERMON  VI. 


No  fruit  of  sin  has  been  more  fatal,  than  the  misun- 
derstanding of  female  duty  and  female  character.  One 
of  the  striking  characteristics  of  all  heathen  lands  is  the 
condition  of  woman.  When  the  Brahmin  priest  was 
reproached  by  the  missionary,  because  he  saw  a woman 
dragging  her  entire  length  from  the  point  of  the  com- 
mencement of  her  dreadful  pilgrimage  to  the  temple — 
(it  lay  entirely  through  a large  tract  covered  with  mud, 
and  she  was  dragging  her  body  through  the  filth) — 
“ There  !”  said  the  missionary,  “that  is  one  of  the  fruits 
of  your  system!”  “Well,  what  is  that?”  replied  the 
Brahmin ; “ it  is  only  a woman  !”  That  tells  the  char- 
acteristic feature  of  their  dark  and  debasing  system ; 
“ it  is  only  a woman  !”  And  what  means  the  Turkish 
harem,  where  woman  is  but  the  animal  ? What  means 
it  ? — The  light  of  Christianity  has  not  shone.  What  is 
the  present  moral  and  social  condition  of  France — 
France,  that  made  the  desperate  experiment  of  rejecting 
Christianity  ? It  is  a fact,  that  even  the  French  lan- 
guage itself  is  destitute  of  the  sweet  word  Home,  and 
all  its  sacred,  tender  associations.  I rejoice  to  say  that 
God  is  doing  great  things  for  France ; but  I speak  of  it 
now  as  a nation  in  the  whole,  a nation  of  mighty  intel- 
lect, a nation  of  immense  intellectual  power  and  pro- 
gress,— but  a nation,  that,  as  a nation,  has  not  a domes- 
tic life ; and  woman  is  not  known  in  France  (not  known 
in  France  as  a nation)  as  she  is  in  England  and  in  the 
colonies  and  the  countries  that  have  sprung  from  Eng- 
land. And  I rejoice  to  say,  that  French  writers  are 
beginning  to  tell  their  nation  the  truth — c Until  you 
estimate  woman  and  the  marriage  contract,  and  the 
marriage  relation  and  the  maternal  relation  differently, 
it  is  in  vain  that  you  essay  the  changes  of  political  gov- 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


161 


ernment ; we  must  have  a change  at  the  fireside,  and 
we  must  begin  to  have  a sacred  home.’ 

But  although  it  is  evident,  that  the  nations  which 
speak  the  English  language  are  in  advance  of  the  rest 
of  the  world  on  this  momentous  subject,  we  have  no 
reason  for  boasting  ; and  it  will  but  injure  us  to  reflect 
upon  that  fact,  if  we  do  not  besides  reflect  upon  the  fact 
that  we  are  very,  very  far  below  the  light  we  have,  and 
very  far  from  discharging  our  duties.  I speak  even  of 
the  higher  classes  of  female  mind ; I speak  even  of  our 
Christian  mothers ; and  I say  it  with  the  profound  re- 
spect that  I feel  in  my  heart  for  the  mothers  in  Israel — 
that  even  they  have  much,  very  much  to  learn — much, 
very  much  to  attain. 

I wish,  in  this  stage  of  the  subject,  to  direct  your  at- 
tention to  a very  remarkable  prophecy — remarkable,  as 
being  the  closing  up  of  the  wonderful  series  of  prophe- 
cies in  the  ancient  Testament.  It  is  in  the  book  of 
Malachi,  the  last  chapter,  and  the  closing  verses  : — 

“ Behold,  I will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet  before 
the  coming  of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord : 
and  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children, 
and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers,  lest  I come 
and  smite  the  earth  with  a curse.” 

I understand  that  prophecy  to  involve  two  points. 
The  first  is,  that  Christianity  (the  primary  meaning  of 
the  prophecy  referring  of  course  to  its  introduction, 
and  the  secondary  meaning  to  its  expansion  and  more 
complete  influence  on  the  human  race) — that  the  first 
influence  of  the  introduction,  and  the  chief  influence 
of  the  spreading,  of  Christianity  in  the  world  is  to 
restore  parental  affection.  You  recollect,  that  Paul 
has  said,  that  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  heathen 

14* 


162 


SERMON  VI. 


is,  that  they  are  “ without  natural  affection and  you 
recollect,  that  when  our  missionaries  went  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  they  found  them  rapidly  undergoing 
depopulation  by  “ infanticide,  and  mothers  would  dig 
the  graves  of  their  own  infants  yet  living,  bury  them, 
throw  the  earth  upon  them,  spread  the  mat  over  them, 
and  (while  the  child  was  perhaps  yet  struggling)  eat 
their  meal  in  self-complacency.”  That  is  the  sterns 
picture  of  man  without  the  Bible,  and  that,  in  greater 
or  less  degrees,  pervades  all  Pagan  countries  and  every 
country,  just  in  proportion  as  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of 
God  fails  of  effect ; and  the  first  meaning  of  this  pro- 
phecy I understand  to  be  the  restoration  of  parental 
love.  And  the  second  I take  to  be  the  proper  inclina- 
tion of  parental  love.  For  now  the  grand  evil  in 
Christian  countries  is,  not  that  parents  do  not  love 
their  children,  but  that  their  love  is  often  the  ruin  of 
their  children.  Misguided  parental  love  now  charac- 
terizes nominal  Christendom.  The  great  care  of  the 
greater  part  of  parents  is  for  the  earthly  welfare  of  their 
children  ; but  when  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  come,  as 
predicted  in  Malachi,  parents  will  begin  to  feel  that 
their  children  are  immortal,  and  that  they  are  to  train 
them  for  glory  and  immortality,  and  not  for  honor — 
the  bubble  that  bursts  in  the  hand  of  him  that  seizes 

it,  — and  not  for  the  pampering  of  the  flesh, — and  not 
for  the  attainment  of  a station,  from  which  death  can 
cast  them  down  to  perdition,  but  for  the  attainment  of 
those  seats  of  glory,  from  which  he  shall  never  be  cast 
out  that  once  has  possession  by  grace.  The  restoration 
of  parental  affection,  and  the  guidance  of  parental  affec- 
tion, are  to  characterize  the  advancing  march  of  Chris- 
tianity through  our  sinful,  wretched  world. 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


163 


In  every  age  of  Christianity  there  have  undoubtedly 
been  individual  parents,  that  have  understood  (to  a 
remarkable  degree,  compared  with  those  around  them) 
their  parental  duties.  We  mean  not  to  say,  that  there 
are  not  now  in  the  churches  a great  many  mothers,  that 
have  a very  wide,  comprehensive,  active  view  of  pa- 
rental duty ; we  mean  not  to  say,  that  there  are  not 
now  in  the  churches  women,  who,  if  their  character 
and  their  maternal  history  and  their  domestic  life 
could  be  held  out  to  the  world,  might  be  a model  to 
the  world.  We  speak  not  of  these  blessed  exceptions, 
we  speak  of  the  general  fact ; and  all  the  remarks  which 
we  make  upon  the  subject,  must  be  understood  in  their 
general  accuracy  and  general  bearing.  But  we  be- 
lieve that  a day  is  dawning,  like  the  day  prophesied 
by  Malachi.  And  one  of  the  first  fruits,  perhaps,  of 
the  wide  awakening  of  the  consciences  of  mothers  and 
the  hearts  of  mothers  has  been  the  formation  of  Ma- 
ternal Associations. 

Association  ! The  world  is  just  beginning  to  under- 
stand its  power,  in  some  of  the  highest  interests  of  man. 
And  I confess  that  it  was  not  without  surprise,  coming 
from  a country,  in  which  these  associations  for  mothers 
are  rapidly  spreading,  and  coming  from  a Church,  in 
the  bosom  of  which  I have  witnessed  from  year  to  year 
their  blessed  influence — it  was  not  without  surprise, 
that  I found  intelligent  and  devoted  Christian  mothers 
here,  with  strong  and  even  insuperable  objections  to 
the  existence  of  Maternal  Associations.  I therefore 
come  with  this  embarrassment ; I come  as  an  American, 
acquainted  with  American  institutions  and  American 
society,  and  unacquainted  comparatively  with  English 
institutions  and  English  society,  and  therefore  I may 


164 


SERMON  VI. 


not  speak  wisely  ; but  you  will  understand  what  I say 
to  be  spoken  with  that  degree  of  light  that  I possess, 
and  for  that  alone  can  I be  responsible.  My  impression 
is  that  mothers  ought  to  associate ; under  what  cir- 
cumstances, and  by  what  principles  to  be  regulated, 
must  be  left  to  the  wisdom  of  those  that  are  in  the  par- 
ticular locality,  judging  of  local  circumstances  and  of 
local  habits ; but  I know  not  why  the  great  and  glo- 
rious principle  of  combined  strength  and  combined 
counsel,  when  two  are  stronger  than  one,  should  not 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  general  duty  of  mothers . 
I can  conceive  of  but  one  general  objection ; and  that 
is,  that  mothers  may  feel  that  their  duties  are  dis- 
charged by  being  members  of,  or  going  to,  the  Maternal 
Association  ; whereas  that  would  be  an  utter  perver- 
sion, for  the  design  is  to  fit  mothers  for  the  duties  of 
home  by  mutual  counsel  and  mutual  encouragement. 

My  commission  is  to  recommend  to  you,  this  day, 
the  formation  and  the  universal  adoption  (under  what- 
ever modifications  you  may  find  best)  of  Maternal 
Associations.  And  as  your  patience  will  allow  me,  1 
will  dwell  in  confirmation  of  this  position  upon  the  ar- 
guments, that  are  most  prominent  before  my  own  mind. 

1.  The  first  consideration  that  I urge  is,  the  tendency 
of  Maternal  Associations  to  promote  maternal  education. 

There  maybe  an  appearance  of  the  want  of  sufficient 
respect,  there  may  be  an  appearance  of  invidious  com- 
parison, when  I say  that  mothers  need  to  be  educated. 
But  I think  that  there  is  not  this  want  of  respect ; for 
I think  that  I should  say  it  even  to  my  own  mother, — 
‘Are  there  not  many  things,  that  might  have  been 
rectified  in  my  education,  if  you  had  had  the  light  that 
a kind  God  is  beginning  to  pour  upon  the  great  subject 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


165 


of  maternal  duty?5 — and  I should  expect,  from  that 
good  sense  and  that  piety  which,  I know,  characterize 
her,  to  hear  her  say,  ‘ Yes,  my  son ! every  day  that  I 
live  I am  discovering  my  faults,  my  own  neglects,  my 
own  want  of  a sense  of  maternal  responsibility,  my 
own  want  of  a deep  and  solemn  consideration  of  the 
importance  of  education ; willingly  would  I go  back, 
with  the  light  I now  have,  and  rear  my  family  again.5 

There  are  unquestionably  two  classes  of  mothers  in 
society ; and  therefore  there  is  great  propriety  in  the 
establishment  of  two  kinds,  or,  at  least  two  branches, 
of  Maternal  Associations.  There  are  those,  who  are 
competent  to  be  to  each  other  mutual  instructors-  and 
there  are  those,  who,  from  the  want  of  advantages  of 
instruction,  had  better  be  subjected  to  the  guidance 
of  those,  to  whom  God  has  given  more  light.  I say, 
then,  ‘let  there  be  the  Mutual  Instruction  Maternal 
Association,  and  the  Maternal  Association  in  which 
one  is  instructed  and  the  other  a learner.5  And  oh ! 
if  there  be  an  angel-visit  of  mercy  on  this  earth,  it  is 
for  the  enlightened  Christian  mother  to  go  to  the  habita- 
tion of  her  poor  and  uninstructed  sister,  and  teach  her 
how  to  bear  her  burden,  how  to  train  her  family.  If 
God  has  given  her  light  and  given  her  love,  let  her  go, 
as  she  has  “ freely  received,55  and  “ freely  give 55  it  to 
the  needy.  It  is  worth  more  than  the  money  and  the 
clothing  and  the  bread,  though  the  money  and  the 
clothing  and  the  bread  should  come  with  it. 

I need  not  convince  this  assembly  of  the  importance 
of  the  moral  influence  of  a mother  ; I may  dwell  upon 
it  for  a moment,  only  to  produce  a deeper  sense  of  that 
which  we  already  know.  It  is  unquestionable,  that 
the  hopes  of  human  society  and  the  hopes  of  the 


166 


SERMON  VI. 


Church  of  God  are  to  be  found  in  the  character,  in  the 
views,  and  in  the  conduct  of  mothers.  Though  it  is 
taking  up  the  very  lowest  department  of  this  subject, 
yet  I will  state  one  single  fact  on  the  civil  bearings  of 
Maternal  Associations.  I suppose,  that,  if  you  could 
trace  the  history  of  every  criminal,  that  stands  at  the 
bar  of  your  courts  of  justice  in  this  great  metropolis, 
(where  there  is  so  much  good  and  so  much  evil,)  you 
would  find,  that  nearly  every  poor  criminal  there  went 
through  as  regular  an  education,  as  any  physician  or 
lawyer  in  your  land ; and  I suppose,  that  you  would 
find,  that  they  had  been  trained,  when  children,  as 
regularly  by  their  mothers  for  the  prison  and  the 
gibbet,  as  in  our  schools  children  are  trained  for  the 
important  duties  of  life.  When  I pass  through  your 
streets,  and  see  the  places  where  the  polluting  and  fiery 
poison  is  sold,  and  see  the  mothers  with  the  little 
infants  at  their  breasts  going  into  those  nurseries  of 
crime,  those  hot-beds  of  poverty  and  pollution,  those 
gateways  of  death  and  hell,  my  heart  bleeds  within 
me.  A mother,  instead  of  the  milk  from  her  breast  to 
nourish,  and  the  “ milk’7  of  heavenly  truth  for  the  im- 
mortal mind  of  her  child,  pouring  into  its  little  system 
the  fiery  poison  of  hell ! Bear  with  me ; and,  if  I 
thought  that  there  were  a vender  of  the  dreadful  poison 
here,  I could  not  but  turn  aside  from  the  theme  com- 
mitted to  me,  to  plead  one  moment  with  him; — so 
cruel  does  it  seem  to  me,  for  men  to  sell  that  which 
they  know  is  to  ruin  body  and  soul,  and  to  hand  out 
the  fiery  glass  to  a mother  to  give  it  to  her  little  child. 
Oh  ! is  there  no  way  of  inducing  these  wicked  men  to 
quit  their  dreadful  employ  ? It  is  all  in  vain  that  we 
establish  prisons,  that  we  carry  out  the  penitentiary 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


167 


system  ; we  shall  only  have  to  do  it,  so  long  as  the 
mothers  are  training  their  children  as  they  are.  We 
must  have  some  improvement  in  the  domestic  edu- 
cation of  the  poor,  if  we  want  an  improvement  in  our 
seats  of  crime  and  of  poverty.  And  there  is  moral 
power  enough  in  the  Church  to  accomplish  it.  I know 
that  sometimes  there  are  difficulties ; but  I have  seen 
these  difficulties  conquered.  I have  seen  the  perse- 
vering visits  of  one  Christian  lady  conquer  the  obdurate 
heart  of  a most  hardened  drunkard,  and  at  last  make 
her  sit  down  a willing  learner  at  the  feet  of  her  bene- 
factor ; and  I have  seen  the  change  in  the  order  of  the 
little  cottage,  the  cleanliness  of  the  children,  the  im- 
proved dress,  the  orderly  habits,  the  regular  attendance 
at  the  sanctuary,  the  improved  disposition  and  conduct 
of  the  little  children,  all  coming  from  the  fact  that  one 
Christian  mother,  who  knew  the  duty  of  a mother, 
and  the  importance  of  a mother,  had  gone  to  this  poor 
woman,  and  waited  on  her  “in  the  bowels  of  com- 
passion’7 that  belong  to  Christ  and  to  his  people,  until 
she  had  persuaded  her  to  do  her  duty  as  a mother. 

I dwell  on  this  one  branch  of  the  subject — the  civil 
influence  alone,  that  I may  on  that  rest  your  conviction 
of  all  the  higher  results,  that  are  to  come  from  the 
right  guiding  of  a mother’s  mind,  and  the  right  guiding 
of  human  character  between  the  ages  of  two  years  and 
twelve  or  fifteen,  which  is  the  peculiar  sphere  of  the 
mother’s  influence.  I wish  to  “ magnify  the  office”  of 
the  mother  ; and  I think  the  whole  tendency  of  these 
Maternal  Associations  is  to  bring  it  out,  and  hold  it 
out  to  the  view  of  mothers  and  of  the  world,  in  all  its 
magnitude  and  importance.  Napoleon  Buonaparte  was 
a man  of  shrewd  observation,  and  he  once  said  to 


168 


SERMON  VI. 


Madam  Campan — u The  old  systems  of  education  are 
worth  nothing  ; what  is  wanted  for  the  proper  training 
of  young  persons  in  France?”  With  keen  discern- 
ment and  great  truth  she  replied  in  one  word— 
u Mothers”  This  word-  struck  the  emperor  ; and  the 
thought  grew  upon  him.  “ Behold,  then,”  said  he, 
“ an  entire  system  of  education  ! you  must  make 
mothers,  that  know  how  to  train  their  children.” 

The  influence  of  Rousseau,  with  all  his  infidelity, 
has  been  in  some  respects  good  on  France.  His  object 
unquestionably  in  one  of  his  works  was  to  give  citizens 
to  the  nation ; and  he  commenced  with  mothers.  u The 
mother’s  milk,”  said  he,  “ should  be  the  milk  of  liberty.” 
He  resorted  to  the  mothers,  because  he  wanted  to  bring 
back  mankind  to  truth,  simplicity,  and  noble  sentiments 
based  on  benevolence ; and  all  that  was  good, — for 
there  was  some  good,  and  it  is  growing  still, — all  that 
was  good  in  the  terrible  French  revolution,  it  appears 
to  me,  can  be  traced  to  the  influence  of  his  writings, 
almost  the  only  pure  stream  that  did  flow  in  those 
times.  But  he  failed,  in  trusting  too  little  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  character  of  the  mother,  and  having  no 
sense  of  the  necessity  of  training  children  for  heaven. 

Man  was  born  for  the  atmosphere  of  love  ; and  when 
we  tear  the  little  child  from  its  mother,  and  send  it  to 
a stranger,  and  to  the  stern  teaching  of  a stranger,  no 
one  can  tell  how  he  feels  his  loss,  and  how  his  little 
heart  sighs  for  his  home,  and  for  the  smile  of  his 
mother,  which  was  the  sun  of  his  home.  Virtue  is  not 
so  much  taught  to  children  as  infused  into  them  ; and 
infused  into  them  at  their  first  stage.  Pestalozzi,  the 
great  Swiss  instructor,  has  traced  what  may  be  (it 
appears  to  me  that  it  probably  is,  but,  whether  it  is  01 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS.  169 

not,  it  suggests  an  important  principle)  the  first  dis- 
covery of  the  principles  of  moral  government  in  the 
intercourse  of  the  child  and  his  mother.  (By  the  first 
idea  of  moral  government  I mean  this — I have  a will 
of  my  own,  but  there  is  a will  exterior  to  mine  and 
above  mine,  and  that  will  has  a right  to  limit  mine.) 
He  supposed  a little  child  to  begin  to  move  his  arm, 
and,  as  is  natural,  to  find  pleasure  in  the  freedom  of 
the  movement,  to  find  his  delight  in  that  motion  to  a 
certain  length  ; but  he  supposes  him  to  meet,  in  trying 
one  day  to  make  this  movement,  the  obstruction  of  a 
table — and  perhaps  it  is  the  first  idea  he  gets  of  exter- 
nal existence  ; then  he  supposes,  that  the  mother  comes 
in,  checks  the  child,  and  forbids  him  to  do  something 
that  he  wishes  to  do  ; the  child  begins  to  discover  the 
difference  between  the  involuntary  table,  the  mere 
mass  of  matter  that  physically  obstructed  his  move- 
ment, and  the  interposition  of  a will  that  interrupted 
him,  and  he  supposes  the  first  idea  that  there  is  a will 
out  of  us  and  above  us  to  come  thus ; and  then  con- 
science wakes  up  with  the  feeling,  £ I ought  to  submit  to 
that  will.5  And  the  great  secret  of  family-training  is, 
to  teach  the  child  that  he  is  to  bow  his  will  to  the  will 
that  governs  in  the  family ; and  then  the  great  secret 
of  religious  training  is,  to  teach  him  to  bow  his  will  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  to  say.  “ Thy  will  be  done  :55  and, 
if  he  were  brought  to  this  on  earth,  he  would  come  to 
stand  in  heaven  among  those  shining  ranks,  whose 
entire  feeling  is,  “ Thy  will  be  done.55  And  how  pe- 
culiarly is  the  mother  fitted  to  exert  this  kind  of  influ- 
ence on  the  mind  of  her  child,  because  she  can  temper 
the  sternness  of  that  rigid  will,  that  does  not  bend  to 
the  child’s  desire,  with  all  the  sweetness  of  love,  and 
15 


170 


SERMON  VI. 


appeal  to  all  the  child’s  sense  of  dependence  and  of  obli- 
gation to  make  it  acceptable ! The  eloquence  of  a 
mother’s  lips  must  first  persuade  the  child  to  virtue. 

The  first  impressions,  that  should  be  made  upon 
man’s  angelic  mind,  unquestionably  are  such  as  we 
trust  will  flourish  in  heaven ; and  God  has  committed 
to  mothers  the  work  of  teaching  their  children,  to  pre- 
fer honor  to  fortune,  to  succor  distress,  to  love  their 
fellows,  to  raise  their  hearts  to  God.  I have  been 
much  struck  with  a remark  made  by  a French  writer. 
Of  sixty-nine  monarchs,  who  have  worn  the  French 
crown,  (he  says,)  only  three  have  loved  the  people, 
and  all  those  three  were  reared  by  their  mothers  with- 
out the  intervention  of  pedagogues.  A.  Bossuet  edu- 
cated the  tyrant  Louis  XIV. ; his  mother  did  not  train 
him.  St.  Louis  was  trained  by  Blanche ; Louis  XII. 
was  trained  by  Maria  of  Cleves ; and  Henri  IY.  was 
trained  by  Jane  of  Albret ; and  these  were  really  the 
fathers  of  their  people.”  “ Good  professors  can  make 
good  scholars ,”  says  this  author ; “ but  good  mothers 
alone  can  make  good  men? 

The  incidental  effect  of  our  Maternal  Associations  is 
to  elicit  attention  and  talent  to  the  great  subject  of  ma- 
ternal duty,  and  to  draw  forth  those  great  lessons  of 
wisdom,  that  mothers  need  to  learn  in  order  to  fit  them 
to  fulfil  it. 

2.  I will  present  a second  consideration : the  tenden- 
cy of  mothers  associating  together,  as  mothers,  to  confer 
on  their  duties  and  their  difficulties,  is  to  quicken  the 
sense  of  their  responsibility. 

As  “ iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a man  sharpeneth  the 
countenance  of  his  friend.”  There  is  something  in  the 
social  principle,  when  consecrated  to  the  great  work  of 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


171 


personal  holiness,  on  which  the  blessing  of  God  seems 
peculiarly  to  rest.  Hence  there  is  so  much  said  in  the 
Bible  of  the  value  of  social  prayer ; hence  it  is  said, 
“ Exhort  one  another  daily.”  And  I think  it  an  advan- 
tage to  have  system  in  this.  It  is  an  advantage  for 
mothers  to  meet  periodically,  and  to  have  regular  sea- 
sons for  exhorting  each  other  in  each  other’s  duties, 
and  for  increasing  in  each  other’s  minds  the  sense  of 
those  duties.  A periodical  revival  of  this  impression 
must,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  be  very  useful. 

3.  I come  now  to  a third  consideration — the  tendency 
of  such  associations  to  increase  family  and  maternal 
religion. 

On  this  subject  I speak  chiefly  from  the  testimony  of 
mothers.  I have  seen  extracts  from  many  letters  writ- 
ten by  mothers,  and  I have  the  testimony  of  mothers  in 
my  own  church,  that  they  have  found  that  every  meet- 
ing of  the  Maternal  Association  sent  them  home  to  their 
closets,  humbled  under  a sense  of  their  deficiencies,  and 
casting  themselves  more  fully  on  covenant  grace  to  aid 
them  in  the  discharge  of  maternal  duty. 

One  influence  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  they  have  led 
to  the  collection  of  the  best  writings  calculated  to  im- 
press a mother’s  heart,  and  the  bringing  them  together 
to  hear  them  read  ; and  it  is  unquestionable,  as  a gene- 
ral principle,  that  a thing  read  in  a large  company  is 
altogether  more  impressive  than  that  read  alone.  When 
the  best  writings  of  the  best  heads  and  the  best  hearts 
are  brought  before  a collected  assembly  of  mothers,  I 
think  that  the  influence  must  be  happy,  in  elevating  the 
standard  of  maternal  piety,  and  having  the  mothers  go 
back  to  the  domestic  circle  to  elevate  the  standard  of 
maternal  religion.  I know  the  fact,  that,  when  an  in- 


172 


SERMON  VI. 


dividual  mother  has  received  a special  blessing  from 
God  in  answer  to  prayer,  when  an  individual  mother 
has  found  her  endeavors  owned  and  blessed  of  God,  and 
when  she  has  gone  to  the  meeting  to  tell  it — each 
mother  has  said,  “ Then  I must  get  nearer  to  God  my- 
self, and  wait  more  faithfully  upon  him,  and  he  will  give 
me , too,  the  blessing  which  he  has  given  to  my  sister.” 

4.  I urge  a fourth  consideration  in  recommendation 
of  Maternal  Associations  ; they  tend  to  facilitate  the 
discharge  of  maternal  duties. 

In  the  first  place,  they  increase  the  information  of 
mothers.  And  I will  just  run  over  a little  catalogue  of 
their  duties,  on  which  they  need  information.  The 
mother’s  art  is  the  most  difficult  perhaps  in  this  world. 
She  has  to  train  the  body  through  the  most  delicate  and 
exposed  period  of  its  existence;  she  has  to  carry  it 
through  the  period,  when  particular  diseases  invade  it ; 
she  has  to  attend  to  the  physical  development  of  the 
entire  man,  in  beauty,  in  strength,  in  healthfulness. 
And  then  at  the  same  time  she  has  to  rear  the  intellect 
and  the  heart — to  judge  of  a thousand  difficult  questions 
of  conscience,  that  are  rising  up  almost  every  day  in 
her  sphere.  It  is  a difficult  art,  I say ; and,  like  every 
other  art,  we  must  have  mothers  more  and  more  edu- 
cated in  it,  to  carry  on  human  nature  to  its  highest 
possible  degree  of  attainment  and  perfection.  If  an 
apprentice  must  be  sent,  for  a certain  term  of  years,  to 
learn  the  simple  trade  of  making  a watch,  or  a shoe,  or 
a hat,  what  shall  we  say  of  her,  that  undertakes  to 
mould  the  mind  of  immortal  man,  to  prepare  it  to  be 
steadfast  amid  the  trials  of  life,  and  then  to  pass  to  the 
spheres  of  endless  glory  ? Well  might  angels  wish  to 
take  the  place  of  a mother,  when  they  see  how  much  is 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


173 


to  be  done  in  forming  the  future  character  of  the  man. 
in  those  years,  when  he  lies  a helpless  infant  on  his 
mother’s  lap.  I speak  from  the  testimony  of  missionary 
mothers ; and  I delight  to  recommend  it  to  those,  that 
feel  for  their  missionary  sisters  in  this  land.  It  is  now 
becoming  extensively  introduced  in  missionary  stations. 
I was  present  at  a meeting  of  the  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners for  Foreign  Missions,  in  America,  when  this 
question  was  agitated  for  many  hours ; and  it  was  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  know  what  to  do ; a missionary 
carries  his  children  with  him,  or  they  are  born  in  the 
country  where  he  has  gone,  and  they  are  cut  off  entirely 
from  Christian  privileges ; if  they  go  outside  the  boun- 
daries of  their  home,  they  are  exposed  to  the  most  de- 
structive influences  ; what  was  the  missionary  to  do  ? 
The  question  came  back  to  us  with  the  most  heart-rend- 
ing anxieties  of  Christian  mothers  and  Christian  fathers, 
and  it  seemed  as  if  we  must  call  them  back — as  if  it 
were  too  much  to  ask  them,  not  only  to  sacrifice  their 
earthly  comforts,  but  to  lay  their  children’s  souls  (as  it 
were)  upon  the  altar ; for  it  seemed  as  though  they 
could  not  guard  them.  But  the  manner,  in  which 
some  of  the  missionary  ladies  have  written  upon  the 
subject,  is  beginning  to  cheer  our  hearts.  We  begin  to 
think,  that  what  they  want  is,  to  make  a more  complete 
society  of  Christian  mothers,  and  to  train  their  children 
under  its  influence ; and,  if  it  is  difficult,  God  will  hear 
their  prayers  and  give  them  peculiar  help.  Missionary 
mothers  are  rejoicing  now  in  the  formation  of  these  As- 
sociations, which  bring  as  it  were  the  entire  power  of 
the  mothers  of  the  station  to  bear  upon  the  duty  of  each 
individual  mother  in  the  church. 

But  I was  speaking  of  the  points,  on  which  mothers 
15* 


174 


SERMON  VI. 


need  instruction,  and  on  which  these  Maternal  Associa- 
tions furnish  it.  They  need  to  understand  the  subject 
of  health  of  course ; they  need  to  understand  the  whole 
subject  of  the  physical  development  of  man.  For  man’s 
body  is  a wonderful  organ.  Just  see  what  his  hand 
alone  can  be  taught  to  accomplish — what  he  can  do  as 
a painter,  what  he  can  do  as  a musician,  what  he  can 
do  as  a writer ; — the  thousand  uses  to  which  the  human 
hand  can  be  brought,  how  much  power  their  lies  hid 
in  this  machine,  and  how  much  skill  is  demanded  prop 
erly  to  begin,  and  by  and  by  to  intrust  to  other  hands 
the  full,  developing  of  the  physical  power  of  man. 
Then  she  needs  for  his  intellectual  education  another 
class  of  information  ; and  then  another  for  his  religious 
education  ; and  still  another  for  the  formation  of  his 
moral  habits,  and  rightly  to  interest  him  in  his  own 
proper  department  of  education.  No  more  difficult 
subject  can  be  found  than  man  in  his  infancy.  Mater- 
nal Associations  tend  to  facilitate  the  discharge  of  ma- 
ternal duties  by  throwing  increased  light  upon  this  diffi 
cult  subject. 

And  they  do  it  by  fortifying  the  determination  of 
mothers.  The  great  struggle  in  a mother’s  heart  is  be- 
tween her  tenderness,  that  cannot  bear  to  behold  the 
sufferings  of  her  child,  much  less  to  inflict  them,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  duty  faithfully  to  restrain  and  reprove 
her  child ; and,  perhaps,  there  is  not  a mother,  who  will 
not  find  her  determination  more  fortified,  when,  meet- 
ing her  sisters,  they  have  compared  their  own  cases, 
and  seen  the  limits  to  which  duty  carried  others  when 
refusing  to  inflict  pain,  and  the  limits  to  which  duty 
carried  them  when  inflicting  it. 

They  tend  likewise  to  facilitate  the  discharge  of  ma- 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


175 


ternal  duties  by  encouraging  mothers.  And  here  I 
wish  to  meet  an  objection,  which  seems  to  imply,  that, 
.if  a lady  joins  a Maternal  Association,  she  has  peculiar 
need  of  being  instructed.  I look  at  the  subject  just  in 
the  other  light ; I would  say.  if  the  kind  providence  of 
God  has  given  to  any  mother  peculiar  light  on  this  sub- 
ject, peculiar  strength  and  peculiar  faith,  she  is  the  very 
person  to  go  to  her  sisters  and  given  them  the  benefit 
of  the  light  God  has  given  her,  and  give  them  the 
benefit  of  the  faith  and  confidence  which  inspire  her 
own  soul.  Here  is  the  very  sphere  for  her  benevolence 
and  her  talent. 

5.  And  I close  my  arguments  in  favor  of  Maternal 
Associations,  by  presenting  the  fact,  that  they  lead  to 
concerted  prayer  for  children. 

I well  remember  to  have  heard  it  remarked,  long 
before  Maternal  Associations  were  instituted,  that,  in  a 
particular  church  in  the  State  of  New  York,  a number 
of  fathers  set  apart  an  evening  in  the  week  to  meet  and 
pray  for  their  children ; and  the  remark  was  made  to 
me  fifteen  years  ago,  that  every  child  of  those  families 
was  converted  to  God ; there  was  not  one  left  out. 
Oh  ! it  must  be  good  for  mothers  to  meet  together  and 
talk  of  the  value  of  the  souls  of  their  children.  It  must 
be  good  for  mothers  to  meet  together,  and  talk  of  the 
guilt  and  danger  of  their  children,  and  together  talk 
over  the  precious  promises  that  encourage  them,  and 
together  bow  them  before  the  mercy-seat,  and  plead, 
(those  “ two  or  three  gathered  together,”)  that  God 
would  convert  their  children’s  souls.  I need  not  dwell 
upon  such  an  argument.  It  is  certainly  good  for  you 
to  pray  alone  for  your  children;  and  it  is  certainly 
good  for  you  to  get  your  sister  to  pray  also  for  your 


176 


SERMON  VI. 


children.  It  is  good  to  have  regular  periodical  prayer 
for  your  children,  as  well  as  to  have  constant  family- 
prayer. 

And  thus  I close  my  advocacy  for  Maternal  Associ- 
ations. 1 have  expounded  to  you  the  honest  con- 
victions and  the  warm  feelings  of  my  own  heart  in 
respect  to  these  important  Associations ; but  (as  I re- 
marked before)  I am  unable  to  judge  particularly  of 
the  duty  of  others,  because  it  is  a recent  institution, 
and  may  need  to  be  greatly  modified  in  its  introduction 
to  different  states  of  society. 

Let  me  close  with  a word  more  particularly  ad- 
dressed to  mothers. 

Mothers  ! give  your  children  every  advantage — 
every  advantage  that  truth  can  give, — every  advantage 
that  a holy  example  can  give, — every  advantage  that 
much  pleading  the  promises  of  God  can  give.  You 
feel  for  the  diseases  of  the  body  of  your  child ; you  are 
speedy  in  sending  for  the  physician,  when  the  body  is 
diseased ; oh ! feel  for  that  immortal  disease  of  sin,  and 
send  for  the  great  Physician.  And,  if  he  comes  not  at 
the  first  knock,  knock  again ; for  he  says  “ it  shall  be 
opened  ask  again,  for  he  says  that  “ it  shall  be  given 
you seek  again,  for  he  says  that  “ ye  shall  find.” 
Oh  ! seek  salvation  for  your  children.  Seek  that  they 
may  be  converted  early ; for  if  you  want  testimonies, 
there  are  enough  of  us  that  can  give  a painful  testi- 
mony, that  it  is  too  late  to  be  converted  at  twenty  and 
at  twenty-one.  Not  that  we  may  not — not  that  we  are 
not — for  some  of  us  reached  even  that  period ; but 
what  we  mean  is  this — it  is  too  late  for  many  im- 
portant purposes.  It  is  so  late  that  it  gives,  to  the  end 
of  life,  fearful  struggles  with  the  habits  of  the  heart. 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


177 


it  is  too  late,  because  there  is  so  much  left  unlearned, 
that  we  should  have  learned  if  we  had  been  pious  in 
our  early  youth ; we  should  have  gone  so  much  deeper 
into  the  counsels  of  God,  if  we  had  come  early  to 
Christ,  and,  like  Timothy,  learned  the  Scriptures  on 
our  mother’s  lap,  and  followed  the  finger  of  a mother’s 
love  as  it  pointed  to  the  Savior.  Oh  ! pray  that  your 
sons  may  not  grow  up  in  sin ; pray  that  they  may  be 
converted  in  their  earliest  years  ; labor  that  they  may 
be  converted  in  their  earlier  years.  Pray  that  your 
daughters,  from  the  first  development  of  their  moral 
faculties,  their  moral  being,  may  learn  to  love  their 
God  and  Savior,  and  be  trained  for  usefulness  here 
and  glory  hereafter.  Your  responsibility  is  great ; for 
the  evils  of  society  are  to  be  rectified  in  the  young. 
Mothers  ! with  you,  who  can  harm  them,  who  can 
train  them,  rests  this  responsibility;  and  may  God’s 
blessed  Spirit  impress  it  on  your  hearts,  and  lead  you 
to  seek  light  and  grace  at  the  fountain  from  which  they 
come. 

Mothers  ! bring  up  your  little  ones  to  Jesus.  Bring 
them  by  faith;  and  if  Satan  seems  to  stand  and  re- 
buke, if  a wicked  and  unbelieving  world,  by  its  ex- 
ample and  its  influence  and  its  maxims,  seems  to 
rebuke,  still  bring  your  little  ones  to  Christ ; still  press 
even  to  his  feet,  and  never  bear  your  mother’s  burdens 
alone,  but  roll  them  upon  a breast  that  beats  in  sym- 
pathy with  yours ; roll  them  upon  the  heart,  and  roll 
them  upon  the  arms  of  the  blessed  Redeemer.  Bring 
them  to  Jesus  as  their  Savior.  Bring  them  to  Jesus  as 
their  Sovereign,  and  teach  their  wills  to  bow  to  his  will. 
Bring  them  to  Jesus  as  their  pattern.  It  is  said  of  a 
Grecian  mother,  that,  when  Alexander  the  Great  was 


178 


SERMON  VI. 


passing  in  the  crowd,  with  his  tall  helmet  and  waving 
plumes,  she  raised  up  her  child  above  her  head,  and  said 
to  him,  “ Look  there  ! that  is  Alexander  the  Great,  and 
you  must  be  another.”  We  only  point  to  the  heathen 
mother,  to  teach  you  to  take  a high  example ; take  the 
example  of  Jesus,  and  teach  your  child  his  blessed 
history,  and  say,  “ There,  my  child  ! be  like  Jesus  ; 
tread  in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus.” 

I see  before  me  some  dear  little  children.  Next  Sun- 
day afternoon  I hope  to  address  a whole  sermon  to 
children,  and  to  tell  them  how  much  we,  ministers, 
love  them,  how  much  we,  ministers,  long  to  see  them 
Christians ; I hope  then  to  say  something  to  them,  that 
the  God  of  grace  may  bless  to  their  little  hearts ; but  I 
am  unwilling  that  they  should  go  away  this  morning 
without  a word.  Dear  little  children  ! look  at  me, 
look  at  me  as  your  friend ; look  at  me  as  a minister  of 
Christ  sent  by  the  blessed  Jesus  to  teach  you.  I want 
you  to  love  Christ ; for  I have  seen  dear  little  children 
that  loved  Christ ; I have  seen  dear  little  children,  that 
wept  because  they  had  wicked  hearts ; I have  seen 
dear  little  children,  that  loved  to  speak  of  the  blessed 
Savior,  who  came  and  died  for  them.  Are  you  such 
a child  ? Do  you  repent  for  sin  ? Do  you  know  how 
wicked  a heart  you  have  ? Do  you  know  how  God 
is  displeased  even  with  the  sins  of  children  ? do  you 
know  that  you  need  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  you  holy, 
and  that  you  need  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  save  you  ? 
Dear  little  children ! have  you  read  the  story  of  the 
Savior’s  sufferings  ? Do  you  remember  how  they 
whipped  him,  and  how  the  blood  ran  down  his  body 
as  they  scourged  him  ? Have  you  read  how  he  went 
out  into  the  garden,  and  wept  and  prayed  and  lay  upon 


MATERNAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 


179 


the  ground  in  an  agony?  Have  you  never  thought  of 
it  all  ? It  was  because  he  loved  your  little  souls,  that 
he  bore  it.  You  know  he  never  sent  little  children 
away  from  him ; he  always  took  them  in  his  arms  and 
blessed  them;  and  you  may  be  sure,  that,  when  he 
prayed  in  that  garden,  he  did  not  forget  you.  And 
when  they  nailed  him  to  the  cross,  and  put  upon  his 
head  the  cruel  crown  of  thorns,  and  the  blood  ran 
down,  dear  children ! he  was  dying  for  you . If  he 
had  not  died,  you  must  have  gone  to  hell ; but  he  died, 
that  you  might  be  taken  into  heaven  at  last.  Will  you 
love  him?  Will  you  give  him  your  hearts  now  ? I 
seem  to  see  him  going  from  seat  to  seat,  and  he  stops 
at  the  little  children ; many  great  men  would  pass  you 
by,  but  Jesus  Christ  will  not.  He  seems  to  stand  at  the 
door  of  little  children’s  hearts,  and  to  say,  “ Behold,  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock  ; if  any”  little  children 
“ open  the  door,  I will  come  *fn”  to  be  their  Savior. 
Will  you  open  your  hearts  to  him,  dear  little  children? 
Will  you  say,  £ Come,  blessed  Savior  ! and  I will  be 
thine  obedient  child;  I will  love  thee,  I will  serve  thee, 
and  then,  when  I die,  and  my  body  is  laid  in  the  cold 
grave,  I hope  that  my  soul  will  rise  with  holy  angels 
to  love  and  praise  and  pray  P 


SERMON  VII. 


CHILDREN  URGED  TO  HEARKEN  TO  INSTRUC- 
TION, AND  TO  FEAR  THE  LORD. 


“ Come , ye  children ! hearken  unto  me ; 1 will  teach 
you  the  fear  of  the  Cord? — Psalm  xxxiv.  11. 

You  know,  when  a minister  preaches,  he  divides  his 
sermon  into  different  parts ; sometimes  we  call  them, 
heads  of  the  sermon ; and  there  are  some  that  under- 
stand it  so  well,  that  they  have  their  pencil  and  paper 
and  take  down  each  one  of  the  heads.  Now  I want 
you  to  recollect  them,  whether  you  write  them  down 
or  not ; because  your  teacher,  or  your  parents,  will  ask 
you  what  the  heads  of  the  sermon  were.  I want  every 
child  to  understand  now,  what  the  heads  of  the  sermon 
mean ; they  are  the  different  points  about  which  the 
minister  makes  his  remarks. 

Now  I am  going  to  give  you  two  general  heads  in 
this  sermon,  and  then,  under  each  one  of  these  general 
heads,  several  smaller  particular  heads. 

I.  I am  going  to  tell  you,  in  the  first  place,  several 
reasons  why  children  should  pay  great  attention  to  ser- 
mons. u Come,  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me.” 
I shall  give  you  four  reasons  why  every  child  ought 
to  listen  very  attentively  to  the  preacher;  now,  under- 
16 


182 


SERMON  VII. 


stand  that  you  must  recollect  these  heads — these  four 
reasons  that  1 give. 

1.  The  first  is  this  : if  children  do  not  pay  great  at- 
tention to  the  sermon,  they  cannot  learn . Children 
come  to  church  to  learn,  just  as  they  go  to  Sabbath- 
school  to  learn  ; but  you  cannot  learn  what  the  minis- 
ter teaches  you,  if  you  do  not  attend  to  it.  If  there  are 
two  children  in  a class  at  school,  that  are  goin«:  to 
study  a lesson  in  geography — and  if  one  of  them,  all 
the  time  that  he  ought  to  be  studying,  is  looking  about, 
is  talking  to  some  other  child,  is  reading  some  other 
book,  or  is  thinking  about  something  else  besides  the 
lesson  in  geography,  which  they  have  to  learn — and 
if  the  other  child  attends  to  the  geography,  reads  the 
lesson  over,  thinks  of  it,  or,  when  the  teacher  is  making 
any  explanation,  listens  to  every  thing  which  the 
teacher  says — you  know  which  of  those  children  will 
be  prepared  to  recite  the  lesson  in  geography  when 
the  time  comes.  Just  so  in  a sermon  : that  child  that 
fixes  his  or  her  eye  upon  the  minister,  that  child  that 
attends  to  the  minister,  is  the  child  that  will  learn  the 
precious  truths  which  the  minister  teaches  ; but  the 
child  that  is  looking  about,  that  is  talking  about  any 
thing,  or  that  is  thinking  about  something  else,  cannot 
learn  any  thing  that  is  taught  in  the  pulpit.  I have 
been  quite  accustomed  to  preach  and  to  talk  a great 
deal  to  the  children  in  my  church,  and  I have  some 
very  dear  children  there  that  I love  a great  deal ; and 
I love  them,  because  they  have  paid  so  much  attention 
to  what  I have  preached  to  them  from  the  pulpit,  and 
what  I have  said  to  them  in  the  meetings  where  I 
have  addressed  them.  There  was  one  little  girl  whom 
1 will  tell  you  about,  to  show  you  what  kind  of  hearers 


INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN. 


183 


we  want  among  children.  I have  noticed  her,  as  she 
sat  always  in  her  father’s  seat  in  the  church,  remark- 
ably fixing  her  eyes  on  me  as  soon  as  I rose  up  in 
the  pulpit  to  begin  the  exercises  ; but  I did  not  know 
so  much  about  her,  till  one  day,  when  I was  sick  and 
confined  to  my  chamber,  her  father  called  to  see  me, 
and  began  to  talk  about  his  dear  little  Mary,  that  was 
about  nine  or  ten  years  of  age.  Said  he,  “ Have  you 
ever  noticed  how  my  little  girl  sits  in  church?”  I 
said  that  I had  not  particularly  noticed  any  thing  but 
this,  that  I used  to  love  to  turn  to  that  side  of  the 
church,  because,  if  any  one  is  preaching,  he  loves  to 
see  every  person’s  eye  on  him,  and,  whenever  I looked, 
this  little  girl’s  bright  eyes  were  always  fixed  on  me. 
But  her  father  told  me  more  about  her.  He  said,  that 
from  the  time  I rose  in  the  pulpit,  she  never  turned 
her  head  one  moment  away  from  me,  except  some- 
times when  I said  any  thing  that  touched  her  heart 
very  much,  she  would  turn  round  to  her  mother,  and 
say,  “ Is  not  that  sweet  ?”  and  that  was  the  only  time 
when  she  would  turn  away  from  the  preacher.  But 
here  was  what  struck  me  with  great  force  about  this 
little  girl,  one  so  young : it  was  the  custom  of  this  fa- 
ther, every  Sabbath  afternoon,  after  the  second  service, 
to  go  home  and  get  all  his  children  around  him,  and 
begin  to  talk  over  the  sermon  of  the  morning,  and 
then  the  sermon  of  the  afternoon  ; they  found  the  text, 
and  each  one  read  it,  and  then  the  father  would  begin 
to  tell  what  he  recollected  of  the  sermon,  and  then  the 
mother  repeated  what  she  recollected  and  that  he  had 
omitted  ; and  the  father  assured  me,  that  sometimes 
they  forgot  one  of  the  heads  of  the  sermon,  one  of  the 
divisions,  and  they  would  turn  to  little  Mary,  and  she 


184 


SERMON  VII. 


would  recollect  it.  I was  quite  surprised  ; but  I have 
learned  more  about  little  children  since  then,  and  I 
find  that  they  can  be  very  profitable  hearers  of  sermons ; 
and  ever  since  that  time  it  has  encouraged  m&  a great 
deal,  even  when  I am  preaching  to  grown  pefople,  to. 
talk  especially  to  children,  because  I find  thai  dear 
little  children  can  understand  me  ; and  that  i£  all  a 
minister  wants,  for  the  people  to  understand  him,  and 
think  about  what  he  says. 

2.  Now,  children ! I have  given  you  one  reason 
why  you  should  pay  attention  to  sermons,  and  that  is, 
that,  if  you  do  not,  you  cannot  learn ; and  the  second 
reason  is,  that  you  cannot  be  made  good  but  by  learn- 
ing. You  will  find  a text  written  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, that  “faith  cometh  by  hearing;”  that  is,  it  is 
when  people  hear  the  Bible  read,  and  hear  the  sermon 
which  explains  the  Bible,  that  they  get  faith  in  God, 
that  they  get  to  believe  his  truth,  and  then  they  feel 
its  power  upon  their  hearts.  Recollect,  dear  children  ! 
that  it  is  not  hearing  words  that  will  make  you  good  ; 
I have  known  a little  child,  that  would  sit  and  look 
right  at  a person  that  was  telling  a story,  and,  if  you 
were  to  go  immediately  afterwards  and  ask  him  what 
he  had  heard,  he  could  tell  you  almost  nothing  about 
it ; and  why?  because,  though  his  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
the  person  that  was  speaking,  his  thoughts  were  going 
upon  some  other  subject.  And  I am  afraid  now, 
that  there  are  a great  many  children  in  this  church, 
and  even  some  of  those  that  are  looking  right  at  me, 
that  do  not  hear  me  rightly.  I am  afraid  that  they  do 
not  hear  me  talking,  or  know  what  I am  saying. 

Who  is  that  child,  which  is  that  child,  that  is  not 
understanding  what  I am  saying?  I want  that  child 


INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN.  185 

to  think*  and  know.  It  will  do  him  no  good  to  come 
to  church,  it  will  do  him  no  good  to  go  to  Sabbath- 
school  or  any  other  school,  if  his  mind  is  inattentive 
to  whar  -is  said.  You  must  understand  the  meaning 
of  what 'is  said ; and  if  there  is  any  thing,  the  meaning 
of  wWch  you  do  not  understand,  you  ought  then  to 
try  aim  recollect  as  much  about  it  as  you  can,  and 
ask  your  parents,  or  ask  your  teacher,  afterwards  to 
explain  it  to  you.  And  more  than  that,  dear  children  ! 
when  you  hear  sermons,  you  must  listen  just  as  if  it 
was  God  himself  that  was  speaking,  because  he  sends 
us.  We  come  from  God  to  you ; we  have  a message 
from  God  to  you.  How  very  kind  it  is  of  the  great 
God,  that  he  will  stoop  from  heaven  and  send  a 
message  to  little  children  ! But  he  does  it ; and  where 
is  that  little  child  that  dare  be  careless  while  we  are 
delivering  God’s  message  ? Children ! you  ought  to 
listen  to  sermons  as  for  your  life  ; you  ought  to  believe 
all  that  is  said,  as  coming  from  God,  and  your  hearts 
ought  to  feel  it,  and  then  you  ought  to  go  away  from 
the  church  to  obey  it. 

3.  Now  I have  given  you  two  reasons  why  you 
should  attend  to  sermons — in  order  that  you  may  learn, 
and  in  order  that  you  may  be  good ; and  the  third  rea- 
son is  this — because  ministers  love  you . Dear  chil- 
dren ! we  love  you ; we  love  you  very  much.  We  love 
you,  because  you  have  immortal  souls,  that  will  live 
when  your  bodies  are  dead  ; and  because  you  are  going 
to  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  and  going  to  eternity,  to 
heaven  or  to  hell ; and  it  is,  that  you  may  not  go  to 
hell, — it  is,  that  you  may  not  live  in  sin  against  God, — 
it  is,  that  you  may  not  keep  those  wicked  hearts  that 
offend  God, — it  is,  that  you  may  come  to  that  blessed 

16* 


186 


SERMON  VII. 


Savior,  who,  when  on  earth,  laid  his  hands  on  children 
and  blessed  them, — it  is,  that  you  may  believe  the  gos- 
pel with  your  whole  hearts,  and  die  in  peace  and  love 
and  fellowship  with  Christ,  that  we  come  to  preach  to 
you.  We  have  prayed  for  you,  dear  children  ! we  have 
felt  for  you  ; we  feel  for  you  now ; we  love  you  ; and 
if  we  love  you,  will  you  not  love  us  ? and  if  ycm  love 
us,  will  you  not  listen  to  us  ? It  is  a great  deal  easier 
to  preach  to  grown-up  people,  than  it  is  to  little  chil- 
dren,— so  many  of  you  are  restless  and  making  a noise, 
and  it  is  so  much  harder  to  explain  things  to  you  than 
to  grown-up  people ; and  yet  we  are  willing  to  do  it. 
Oh ! it  is  very  ungrateful  in  a little  child,  not  to  pay 
great  attention  to  what  we  say,  when  we  come  here  and 
try  to  teach  you.  And  an  ungrateful  child  never  grows 
up  to  be  a good  man  or  woman.  An  ungrateful  heart 
is  one  of  the  things  of  which  God  most  complains. 
Every  little  child  ought  to  be  very  grateful  to  his  Sab- 
bath school  teacher,  who  comes  so  regularly,  and  sacri- 
fices so  many  comforts  for  you ; you  ought  to  be  very 
grateful  to  these  teachers,  to  love  them,  and  to  pay  them 
great  attention.  And  so  with  the  minister,  who  loves 
you,  and  feels  for  your  souls,  and  prays  to  God  on  your 
behalf,  and  comes  to  instruct  you,  and  tries  to  lead  you 
to  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  has  taken  away  your  sins  ; 
you  ought  to  love  him,  and  you  ought  to  listen  to  him. 

4.  And  now  I will  give  you  a fourth  reason  why  you 
should  listen  to  the  preacher,  listen  with  your  mind, 
and  attend  with  your  mind,  as  well  as  with  your  ear 
and  eye ; it  is  because  God  himself  speaks . I have 
already  said,  that  God  speaks  through  his  ministers ; 
but  I want  you  now  to  treat  it  as  a distinct  reason.  If 
the  great,  God  should  come  down  here,  as  he  did  upon 


INSTRUCTION  OP  CHILDREN.  187 

the  top  of  Mount  Sinai,  in  a cloud,  and  with  lightnings 
and  thunder  and  the  sound  of  a trumpet,— if  this  house 
should  tremble,  and  the  ceiling  should  open,  and  the 
glory  of  the  eternal  King  should  appear,  and  the  voice 
of  God  should  sound  out, — all  the  children  would  lis- 
ten. Well,  children  ! it  is  just  as  really  that  eternal 
God,  whom  the  angels  adore,  who  is  now  speaking. 
He  makes  use  of  us ; but  he  will  bring  you  into  judg- 
ment at  the  last  day  for  every  sermon  that  you  have 
heard ; and  if  you  do  not  listen  to  them,  if  you  reject 
them,  then  God  will  bring  you  into  judgment  for  neg- 
lecting him  and  rejecting  his  message. 

Now,  children  ! do  you  all  understand  this  first  head, 
that  children  ought  to  pay  great  attention  to  the  preach- 
er ? I have  given  you  four  reasons  for  it.  The  first  is, 
that  if  you  do  not  pay  attention,  you  cannot  learn  ; and 
where  is  that  child,  that  is  willing  to  be  stupid  and 
ignorant — especially  not  to  learn  God’s  great  and  pre- 
cious truth  ? The  second  is,  that,  if  you  do  not  pay 
great  attention,  with  your  eye,  with  your  ear,  with  your 
hearts,  you  cannot  be  made  good.  The  third  is,  be- 
cause ministers  love  you.  And  the  fourth  is,  because 
God  himself  speaks  to  you  by  us.  That  you  will  see, 
when  you  come  to  read  the  rest  of  the  verse ; and  that 
is  the  next  part  of  our  subject. 

“ Come,  ye  children  ! hearken  unto  me.”  Well,  what 
shall  I teach  you,  when  you  listen  ? I suppose  now, 
that  the  greater  part  of  these  dear  children  will  listen 
to  me,  for  the  rest  of  my  sermon  ; I suppose  that  they 
have  made  up  their  minds  to  listen  very  attentively  and 
very  solemnly ; and  if  so,  try  to  feel  what  I say,  and 
pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  may  help  you  to  re- 
member it  and  obey  it. 


188 


SERMON  VII. 


II.  “ Come,  ye  children  ! hearken  unto  me ; I will 

TEACH  YOU  THE  FEAR  OF  THE  LORD.”  I Want  to 

teach  you,  dear  children,  to  fear  God . 

Why  ought  you  to  fear  God  ? I am  going  to  give  you 
three  reasons  for  that. 

1.  The  first  reason  why  we  ought  to  fear  God  is,  be- 
cause he  is  so  great . “ Come,  ye  children  ! hearken 

unto  me I am  now  your  minister,  and  I am  your  dear 
friend  : come,  listen  to  me,  and  I will  teach  you  to  fear 
the  great  God.  When  I was  a little  boy,  this  thought 
used  often  to  come  into  my  mind — { How  is  it  possible 
that  God  never  had  a beginning?7  Many  and  many  a 
time  I tried  to  carry  my  thoughts  back  before  the  world 
was,  before  the  angels  were — backward,  backward  into 
eternity — and  thought,  ‘ How  is  it  possible  that  God 
never  had  a beginning  V — and  then  to  carry  my  mind 
onward  and  onward,  after  we  are  dead,  and  after  those 
that  shall  come  next  are  dead,  the  next  generation  dead, 
the  world  burnt  up,  the  judgment  day  passed,  all  of  us 
in  eternity,  onward  and  onward  and  onward  for  ever — 
and  yet  God  will  never  cease  to  be.  Oh  ! what  a great 
and  awful  Being  is  God  ! He  existed  from  eternity,  he 
exists  to  eternity ; he  exists  in  himself ; no  other  being 
keeps  him  in  existence ; he  is  God.  He  fills  all  im- 
mensity, all  worlds,  all  the  universe  ; he  sustains  the 
planets,  for  he  made  them ; he  made  the  sun,  he  made 
the  moon,  he  made  the  distant  worlds,  perhaps  millions 
and  millions  of  them : he  made  this  world,  he  keeps  it 
in  being  ; he  made  the  beasts  and  the  trees,  the  birds, 
and  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  all  men  and  all  children,  and 
holds  them  in  his  hand.  What  a great  God  is  he,  that 
takes  care  of  all  this  congregation  ! — what  a mighty 
God  ! Well,  this  God,  so  great  in  power,  who  made  the' 


INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN.  189 

heavens  and  the  earth , who  built  the  everlasting  moun- 
tains, and  made  the  sea, — this  God,  whom  the  angels 
fear, — this  great  God,  who  cast  down  the  rebel  angels 
into  hell,  sent  a deluge  upon  this  wicked  world  and 
drowned  all  its  inhabitants,— this  great  God,  who  sent 
the  fire  of  his  wrath  upon  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and 
burnt  them  up,  because  of  their  sins, — this  great  God, 
who  cast  Pharoah  and  all  the  Egyptian  army  into  the  Red 
Sea — this  great  God,  who  thunders  in  the  heavens,  and 
can  make  the  earth  quake  from  pole  to  pole — this  great 
God,  children  ! you  ought  to  “ fear.”  He  is  able  to  lift 
you  up,  and  he  is  able  to  cast  you  down.  He  is  able 
to  cast  all  the  wicked  into  hell,  and  he  is  able  there  “ to 
destroy  both  soul  and  body  for  ever.”  Would  you  be 
afraid  of  a lion  in  your  path,  that  could  destroy  you  ? 
God  made  the  ferocious  lion ; and  if  God  is  “ angry 
with  the  wicked,”  his  anger  is  infinitely  more  terrible 
than  the  anger  of  any  creature  that  he  has  made. 
Dear  children ! if  we  fear  the  creatures  that  God  has 
made,  how  much  more  ought  we  to  be  afraid  of  the  anger 
of  the  great  and  powerful  God  ! “ Come,  ye  children  ! 

hearken  unto  me  ; I will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord.” 
You  ought  to  fear  the  power  and  the  anger  of  the  great 
God. 

2.  There  is  another  reason  why  you  should  fear  him, 
and  this  is  the  second  I am  about  to  mention ; it  is  be- 
cause God  is  so  holy.  God  is  holy,  dear  children  ! and 
he  knows  your  hearts,  he  knows  your  thoughts,  he 
knows  all  your  words,  and  he  hates  every  sin.  He  hates 
your  sins  very  much.  He  requires  you  to  “be  holy,  as 
he  is  holy.”  This  holy  God  will  punish  iniquity. 
There  is  a day  coming,  when  he  will  bring  us  all  up 
before  his  judgment-seat ; and  there  is  not  a child,  that 


190 


SERMON  VII. 


I am  speaking  to  this  afternoon,  that  will  not  have  to 
stand  at  the  judgment-seat  of  the  great  God.  Children ! 
think  of  this  holy  God,  who  will  bring  you  into  judg- 
ment ; think  of  your  wicked  hearts,  and  your  wicked 
lives,  and  all  your  wicked  words,  that  God  will  bring 
out  at  that  great  and  terrible  day.  You  will  have  to 
stand  there ; none  of  us  can  escape  ; death  and  the 
grave  will  not  hold  us,  for,  when  the  archangel’s  trum- 
pet shall  blow,  we  shall  all  come  out  of  our  graves  and 
go  and  stand  before  God.  We,  then,  who  have  sinned 
against  him,  we  who  have  provoked  him  to  wrath, 
ought  to  fear  his  anger.  Hence  it  is  said,  that  all  who 
are  round  about  him  shall  “fear  before  him.”  You 
must  approach  him  with  reverence,  with  repentance, 
and  with  sincerity.  And  then  understand,  dear  chil- 
dren ! (as  I preached  this  morning,  and  I repeat  it  to 
those  who  were  not  here,)  that  the  only  way  to  come  to 
a holy  God  is  to  come  through  his  dear  Son.  You 
must  come  through  Jesus  Christ.  Your  sins  are  great, 
and  call  for  the  anger  of  God,  and,  unless  you  approach 
him  through  his  dear  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  you  must  per- 
ish. I have  known  some  dear  little  children,  (I  have 
known  many  of  them,  for  I have  seen  a great  many 
children  that  I think  loved  God,)  and  I have  seen  them 
greatly  troubled  about  their  sins  ; I have  seen  them  so 
troubled,  that  for  days,  and  sometimes  for  weeks,  they 
could  hardly  sleep  in  quiet,  for  every  night  when  they 
were  going  to  bed  the  thought  came  to  them,  ‘ Oh ! if  I 
should  die  to-night ! Oh  ! if  God  should  take  me  away 
in  my  sins  P I used  to  be  afraid  of  dying,  when  I was 
a boy ; and  I wonder  now  that  God  did  not  cut  me  off 
then,  so  wicked  a boy  as  I was  ; and  many  of  you,  dear 
children  ! ought  to  fear  too,  for  you  have  been  very 


INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN.  191 

wicked.  I remember,  that  once  I was  playing  with 
some  other  little  boys  by  the  side  of  a great  river,  and  I 
carelessly  ran  over  the  edge  of  the  bank  and  fell  into 
the  river  ; but  it  was  low  tide  ; if  it  had  been  high  tide, 
I should  certainly  have  been  drowned ; suppose  I had, 
then  I should  have  gone  to  hell,  for  I was  a wicked 
boy,  as  I fear  many  of  you  are.  Oh  ! what  a mercy  it 
was  that  God  did  not  let  me  drown  then,  and  did  not 
let  me  die  in  my  sins  ! And  so  it  is  with  you  ; and  you 
ought  to  be  afraid  of  this  holy  God ; you  ought  to  be 
afraid  to  sleep,  while  your  sins  are  unpardoned  and 
your  hearts  are  unconverted,  because  God  is  so  holy 
that  he  cannot  bear  to  look  upon  sin,  even  in  the  heart 
and  in  the  life  of  a child.  And  how  are  you  ever  going 
to  dwell  in  the  holy  heaven  of  God,  and  with  his  holy 
angels,  dear  children  ! unless  your  hearts  become  holy? 
You  must  become  holy,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  must  make 
you  holy,  or  you  cannot  dwell  with  God.  Therefore 
you  ought  to  be  very  much  afraid,  lest  God  should  give 
you  up  to  your  wicked  heart,  and  lest  God  should  take 
away  his  Holy  Spirit  from  you,  and  then  you  would 
never  become  holy,  and  never  dwell  in  his  presence. 

3.  Now  I am  going  to  mention  a third  reason,  be- 
sides God’s  being  so  great  and  so  holy ; and  it  is, 
because  God  is  able  to  do  what  he  will  with  you , both 
in  this  life  and  the  next . All  the  children  that  hear 
me,  if  they  live,  will  grow  up  to  be  men  and  women. 
Children  ! who  can  take  care  of  you  in  this  life  ? Your 
fathers  and  mothers,  (you  whose  parents  God  has 
spared,) — your  fathers  and  mothers  can  do  much  for 
you  ; your  friends  can  do  much  for  you ; but  there 
is  a great  deal  that  they  cannot  do  for  you.  They 
cannot  make  you  happy;  they  cannot  make  other 


192 


SERMON  VII. 


people  respect  you;  they  cannot  make  you  succeed 
in  any  thing  you  undertake  in  this  world ; all  true 
happiness  must  come  from  God,  and  the  respect  of  men 
must  come  because  God  gives  it  to  us  ; and  all  success 
in  life  must  come  from  God ; all  real  good  must  come 
from  God.  Now,  dear  children  ! God  can  do  what  he 
pleases  with  you.  He  can  let  you  grow  up  wicked ; 
he  can  leave  you  to  temptation,  leave  you  to  bad  com- 
pany, leave  you  to  disgrace.  I have  known  the  chil- 
dren of  pious  parents  grow  up  so  wicked,  that  the 
parents  have  had  to  turn  them  from  their  doors ; I 
have  known  them  to  fall  into  the  temptations  of  the 
devil  and  into  the  company  of  wicked  boys,  and  to  be 
led  on  from  one  sin  to  another,  till  they  became  so 
wicked  and  so  hardened,  that  their  parents  could  not 
bear  them  under  their  roof.  It  is  true,  as  far  as  we 
are  able  to  trace,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  children 
that  are  trained  up  in  Sabbath-schools,  grow  up  re 
spectable  in  this  life,  though  I am  afraid  very  mauy 
of  them  go  down  to  hell,  because  they  will  not  believe 
on  Christ  in  their  hearts.  But,  dear  children ! God 
can  leave  you  to  temptation,  to  bad  company,  to  dis- 
grace and  sorrow;  he  can  take  away  your  parents,  he 
can  take  away  your  friends,  he  can  give  you  up  to  a 
hard  heart,  and  then,  after  a life  of  wickedness,  he 
can  leave  you  to  die  in  despair.  I have  seen  persons 
die  in  despair ; and  I pray  to  God,  that  none  of  you , 
dear  children,  may  live  in  wickedness  and  at  last  die 
in  despair  and  without  hope  in  God.  Children  ! be 
afraid  of  God,  because  he  can  bring  sorrow,  woe, 
penury,  in  this  life,  despair  in  your  dying  hours,  and 
everlasting  destruction  in  the  life  to  come. 

“ Children!  hearken  unto  me;”  you  must  be  afraid 


INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN.  193 

of  displeasing  God  ; you  must  have  great  reverence  for 
God.  When  you  read  the  Bible,  you  must  fear  God, 
because  he  is  a great  and  a holy  God ; when  you  go 
into  your  little  room  apart  to  pray,  you  must  fear  God ; 
when  you  go  to  the  Sabbath-school  you  must  fear 
God ; when  you  come  into  the  sanctuary,  where  God 
is  worshipped,  you  must  fear  God ; you  must  neither 
talk  and  laugh  with  one  another,  nor  let  light  and 
trifling  thoughts  come  into  your  minds,  but  you  must 
feel  that  the  place  is  holy.  Come,  children  ! learn 
to  fear  God.  I was  delighted  this  afternoon,  to  hear 
so  many  children’s  voices  joining  in  the  solemn  songs 
of  Zion ; that  is  sweet ; but  Oh  ! how  much  sweeter 
the  thought  would  be,  if  I could  believe  that  every 
child  here  feared  God,  that  every  child  here  was  hum- 
bled in  the  presence  of  God,  sorrowful  for  having 
sinned  against  him,  and  that  every  child  here  desired, 
more  than  any  thing  else,  that  God  would  take  away 
his  anger  and  remove  his  displeasure  from  them ! 
Children ! fear  God,  so  as  to  repent  of  sin ; fear  God, 
so  as  to  obey  him ; fear  God,  so  that  when  you  go  in 
secret,  you  will  not  dare  to  sin.  Children,  when  they 
get  alone,  are  not  afraid  to  sin,  because  they  are  not 
afraid  of  God ; they  are  afraid  to  sin  before  their 
parents,  they  are  afraid  to  say  a wicked  word  before 
their  father,  because  he  will  chastise  them,  but,  when 
they  get  alone,  they  are  not  afraid  of  doing  it.  “ Thou 
God  seest  me,”  every  child  should  say — “ Thou  God 
seest  me”  in  the  darkness,  as  well  as  in  the  light ; 
“ Thou  God  seest  me”  when  I am  alone,  as  well  as 
when  I am  with  my  parents.  When  you  get  with 
wicked  children,  you  should  fear  him ; when  you 
hear  them  swear,  when  they  hand  you  wicked  in- 
17 


194 


SERMON  VII. 


decent  books  or  pictures,  fear  God,  my  children ! 
The  boy  that  has  the  fear  of  God,  may  grow  up  to 
live  to  God’s  glory  in  this  world,  and  to  dwell  with 
him  in  his  glory  in  the  next.  I have  no  hope  of  the 
boy  that  has  not  the  fear  of  God  ; if  he  should  do  well 
in  this  life  (as  men  say)  he  would  perish  for  ever  in 
the  next. 

Now  I am  about  to  finish  the  sermon ; but  I want 
first  to  point  you,  for  one  or  two  minutes,  to  the  cases  of 
three  or  four  individuals,  that  feared  God  in  their  youth. 

You  recollect  little  Samuel.  You  have  read  his 
history.  Little  Samuel  was  in  the  temple  night  and 
day,  always  waiting  upon  God,  always  fearing  and 
serving  God.  Samuel,  you  see,  got  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  prophets  in  Israel ; he  anointed  Saul,  and  after- 
wards David,  to  be  king  of  Israel. 

You  recollect  the  case  of  Joseph.  When  Potiphar’s 
wife  tempted  him  to  sin,  Joseph  feared  God,  and  refused 
to  sin  ; and  God  honored  him,  and  saved  him,  and  set 
him  on  high,  and  made  him  a blessing  to  his  family 
and  to  the  whole  land  of  Egypt. 

But  I want  to  tell  you  particularly  of  a person,  ot 
whom  you  may  not  have  heard  so  much  ; all  the  chil- 
dren in  America  have  heard  much  of  him,  because  he 
lived  there,  and  he  was  a very  great  and  good  man.  I 
mean  George  Washington — one  of  the  greatest  men,  I 
think,  in  some  respects  that  has  lived  in  modern  days ; 
and  I admire  him,  because,  when  he  was  a little  boy, 
I see  the  reason  why  he  was  sure  to  become  a great 
man.  I will  tell  you  two  things  about  George  Wash- 
ington, when  he  was  a little  boy,  that  were  sure  se- 
curity that  he  would  become  what  he  was.  George 
Washington  would  rather  die  than  tell  a lie,  he  would 


INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN.  195 

rather  suffer  any  thing  than  violate  the  truth  ; and  one 
of  the  dreadful  crimes  of  children  is,  that  they  lie,  that 
they  deceive,  though  God  knows  it  and  writes  every 
lie  and  every  deception  in  his  book.  This  boy  feared 
to  lie ; and  I will  give  you  two  instances  of  it. 

His  father  had  imported  from  Europe  a beautiful 
cherry-tree,  and  had  planted  it  in  his  garden,  and 
watched  it  every  day  with  great  interest  to  see  it  grow. 
He  had  bought  for  his  son  George  a hatchet  to  play 
with.  One  day  George  was  in  the  garden  with  his 
little  hatchet,  and  without  much  thought  of  what  he 
was  doing,  he  came  to  this  beautiful  tree,  and  cut  the 
bark  almost  round  in  several  places — for  you  know 
boys  are  fond  of  using  edged  tools  in  that  way.  His 
father,  taking  his  walk  in  the  garden,  found  the  tree 
cut  in  this  way,  and  he  saw  it  must  die.  He  was  very 
much  grieved,  and  he  saw  at  once  who  must  have 
done  it ; but  he  said  nothing,  till  he  met  George  ; he 
did  not  send  for  him,  but  waited  till  he  met  him.  And 
the  first  time  he  met  him,  he  said,  “ George  ! some  one 
has  destroyed  my  favorite  tree  ; do  you  know  who  has 
done  it?”  The  little  boy,  instead  of  blushing  and 
turning  away,  instead  of  making  excuses,  instead  of 
telling  a falsehood,  looked  right  up  in  his  fathers  face, 
and  said,  “ My  father ! I have  done  it.”  Tears  in- 
stantly rolled  down  his  father’s  cheek;  he  laid  his 
right  hand  upon  his  boy’s  head  ; said  he,  “ George  ! I 
would  rather  lose  every  tree  in  my  garden,  than  that 
you  should  tell  a lie ; I like  to  see  the  manliness  of 
your  heart,  that  you  should  at  once  confess,  ‘ I have 
done  it.’  ” 

His  mother  had  a little  dun  colt,  a foal  that  had 
never  been  broken  in.  One  morning  before  breakfast 


196 


SERMON  VII. 


several  of  George’s  companions  came  to  see  him,  and 
they  happened  to  go  out  together  into  the  meadow 
where  the  colt  was.  George  proposed  that  one  of  them 
should  get  upon  the  colt,  and  ride ; but  none  of  them 
would  venture.  He  was  a fearless  boy  himself,  and  he 
got  a bridle,  (or  rather  a bit  of  rope,)  fastened  it  to  the 
horse’s  neck,  and  then  mounted  it.  But  the  colt  was 
so  restless,  and  sprang  about  so  much,  that  at  last  it 
dashed  itself  to  the  earth,  burst  a blood  vessel,  and  died 
almost  in  a moment.  The  boys  all  went  to  breakfast, 
and  Mrs.  Washington  endeavored  to  amuse  them  and 
make  them  happy ; but  she  saw  that  they  were  not 
happy;  she  saw  that  there  was  something  to  make 
them  sad.  At  last  said  she,  “Have  you  seen  my 
favorite  colt?”  All  the  boys  blushed  in  confusion  and 
distress.  Said  she — “ What  is  the  matter  ? has  any 
thing  happened  to  my  colt?”  Her  little  son  George 
looked  right  in  her  face ; said  he,  “ Mother,  I have 
killed  your  colt  ?”  His  mother  was  grieved  of  course ; 
but  her  remarks  to  him  were  very  much  like  those,  that 
his  father  made. 

Now  I will  tell  you  one  other  thing  about  him,  to 
show  in  what  way  I think  it  was  evident  that  he  would 
become  a great  man.  He  was  about  to  go  to  sea  as  a 
midshipman ; every  thing  was  arranged, — the  vessel 
lay  out  opposite  his  father’s  house,  the  little  boat  had 
come  on  shore  to  take  him  off, — and  his  whole  heart 
was  bent  on  going.  After  his  trunk  had  been  carried 
down  to  the  boat,  he  went  to  bid  his  mother  farewell, 
and  he  saw  the  tear  bursting  from  her  eye.  However 
she  said  nothing  to  him ; but  he  saw  that  his  mother 
would  be  so  distressed  if  he  went,  and  perhaps  never 
be  happy  again.  He  just  turned  round  to  the  servant, 


INSTRUCTION  OP  CHILDREN.  197 

and  said,  “ Go  and  tell  them  to  fetch  my  trunk  back ; 
I will  not  go  away,  to  break  my  mother’s  heart.”  His 
mother  was  struck  with  his  decision,  and  she  said  to 
him,  “ George ! God  has  promised  to  bless  the  children 
that  honor  their  parents,  and  I believe  he  will  bless 
you?  And  he  did. 

Children ! I exhort  you,  for  the  sake  of  this  life,  to 
fear  God.  I exhort  you  so  to  fear  him,  that  you  will  not 
live  under  his  anger,  but  go  to  his  blessed  Son,  and 
seek  pardon  through  him.  And  then,  if  you  and  I 
meet  in  heaven,  if  you  join  the  ranks  of  angels  and  of 
saints  on  high,  we  shall  dwell  in  love,  and  “ fear”  God 
together. 

May  God  add  his  blessing ! May  you  all  become 
dear  holy  children ; and  when  you  die,  may  you  be 
admitted  to  the  world  of  glory,  through  his  grace  in 
Christ  Jesus. 


1 T 


SERMON  Y III. 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST. 


“ And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them , ‘ Ve- 
rily I say  unto  you , Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren:  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me ? Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them 
on  the  left  hand,  ‘ Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed  ! into 
everlasting  fire , prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  an- 
gels : For  I was  an  hungered , and  ye  gave  me  no 
meat : I was  thirsty , and  ye  gave  me  no  drink : I 
was  a stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in : naked,  and 
ye  clothed  me  not : sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  vi- 
sited me  not?  Then  shall  they  also  answer  him, 
saying,  £ Lord  ! when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  or 
athirst,  or  a stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison, 
and  did  not  minister  unto  thee  ? Then  shall  he  an- 
swer them,  saying,  £ Verily  I say  unto  you,  Inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye 
did  it  not  to  me.” — Matt.  xxv.  40 — 45. 

Many  centuries  ago,  a prince  of  mighty  empire  de- 
termined to  travel  in  disguise  into  a strange  land,  for 
the  purpose  of  accomplishing  certain  very  benevolent 
objects.  As  he  was  one  day  journeying  on  foot  through 
a rough  and  weary  country,  in  the  western  part  of  Asia, 
he  came  to  a celebrated  watering-place.  Being  greatly 
fatigued,  he  sat  down  upon  the  well-curb,  and  waited 


200 


SERMON  VIII. 


for  some  one  to  come  with  a vessel  and  cord,  that  he 
might  relieve  himself  from  thirst.  He  had  not  sat 
there  long  before  a woman  from  a neighboring  city 
came  to  the  well.  He  asked  her  to  allow  him  to  drink 
from  her  pitcher.  She  refused,  because  his  dialect  and 
dress  bespoke  him  a foreigner.  Hearer  ! suppose  you 
had  been  there,  and  had  suspected  that  it  was  a prince, 
would  you  not  gladly  have  supplied  him  ? But  what 
would  you  have  done,  if  you  had  ascertained  that  it 
was  the  Son  of  God,  the  King  of  Heaven  ? 4 Oh ! 1 
would  have  cried  out  as  that  woman  did — Lord ! Lord ! 
I must  turn  suppliant ; I will,  indeed,  give  thee  this 
poor  earthen  pitcher,  and  supply  thee  with  the  water  of 
Jacob’s  well ; but  Oh  ! do  thou  give  me  the  Water  of 
Life.’  Believe  me,  my  hearers ! you  have  the  oppor- 
tunity ; he  is  now  travelling  in  disguise  through  our 
land.  Where  is  he?  and  how  shall  we  know  him? 
He  is  wherever  human  nature  is  suffering  the  ills  of  life ; 
wherever  the  body  is  in  sickness  or  pain ; wherever 
the  mind  is  in  darkness  or  misery.  Yes,  it  is  with 
poor  human  nature  that  he  has  identified  himself — no 
matter  how  poor,  how  abject,  how  despised — wherever 
human  flesh  is  wrapped  around  a human  soul,  the  more 
it  suffers,  the  deeper  it  is  fallen,  the  more  tender  is  the 
Savior’s  sympathy,  the  more  burning  is  his  shame ; and 
he  that  lifts  up  that  degraded  human  being,  takes  the 
blush  from  Jesus’  cheek ; he  that  gives  a cup  of  cold 
water  to  a thirsty  man,  because  he  regards  the  Savior’s 
interest  in  that  man,  quenches  the  thirst,  and  cheers  the 
heart,  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Do  you  ask  the  proof  of  this  bold  and  strange  posi- 
tion ? It  is  found  in  all  the  solemn  description  of  the 
judgment,  which  filled  this  discourse  of  Christ  himself. 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  201 

Do  you  shrink  from  that  low  and  filthy  apartment,  from 
that  emaciated  and  disgusting  frame,  because  your 
senses  are  trained  to  refinement?  do  you  pass  by  on  the 
other  side  from  the  bed  of  contagion?  So  Jesus  says, 
“ I was  sick,  and  ye  did  not  visit  me.”  You  are  mis- 
taken, friends  ! that  is  a bed  of  state,  and  Heaven’s 
prince  lies  there  disguised  by  all  that  filth  and  poverty 
— all  his  ministering  spirits  are  hovering  around  that 
spot.  It  is  a glorious  place,  in  which  a poor  sinner 
may  minister  to  his  Sovereign.  Do  you  say  that  we 
have  imagined  an  extreme  case.  Oh,  no,  “ Inasmuch 
as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least , ye  have  done  it  unto 
me.”  1 Yes  ; but  there  is  another  case  of  debasement, 
which  surely  contradicts  your  assertion.’  What  is  it  ? 
‘ It  is  that  of  the  man  who  has  outraged  all  the  ties  of 
society,  trampled  its  laws  under  his  feet,  made  himself 
the  enemy  of  his  race,  and  cast  himself  beyond  the  pale 
of  sympathy ; and  now  lies  enchained  and  endungeoned 
for  his  crimes.  Surely  Christ  has  no  fellowship  with 
him.’  Stop,  my  hearers ! read  the  record  again ; “ I 
was  in  prison,  and  ye  did  not  come  unto  me.”  When, 
Lord  ! and  where  ? £ There,  in  that  lowest  and  least 

of  Adam’s  apostate  children.’  But  we  have  not  finished 
the  application  of  the  principle — there  is  a still  further 
debasement  of  humanity.  It  is  a woman,  who,  having 
sacrificed  her  modesty,  purity,  refinement  and  tender- 
ness, has  become  an  outcast  from  society.  Does  the 
Son  of  God  regard  her  thus  too  ? Go  ask  the  Phari- 
sees, who  saw  him  associating  with  the  worst  of  men 
and  women,  as  their  Teacher  and  Savior,  and  even  re- 
ceiving, with  the  most  condescending  kindness,  Mary’s 
expressions  of  gratitude.  They  can  testify  that  he  loved 
the  worst,  and  the  vilest,  with  the  same  tender  affection 


202 


SERMON  VIII. 


which  he  felt  towards  the  more  upright  and  respectable. 
He  associated  with  them,  taught  them,  encouraged  their 
reformation,  prayed,  and  died  for  them,  as  for  others. 
Are  your  doubts  removed  now ; and  can  you  now  take 
up  this  proposition  as  truth?  Then  I answer  a very 
natural  inquiry,  Why  is  it  so  ? 

1.  Because  Christs  compassion  for  our  race  is  so 
strong  and  impartial.  It  is  so  strong  ; therefore,  no 
man  can  sink  below  it , so  long  as  Justice  permits  Mercy 
to  be  exercised  in  his  behalf.  It  is  impartial : and 
therefore  it  regards  the  Christian  family  as  a great  race 
of  apostates.  The  grand  distinction,  that  constitutes  us 
sinners,  is  so  much  greater  than  that  which  can  possi- 
bly separate  one  sinner  from  another , — except  grace 
work  in  us  a difference, — that  to  Christ’s  compassion  it 
is  nothing.  He  loves  human  nature,  as  such,  and  as 
fallen  ; not  as  holy,  nor  lovely.  And  it  is  of  the  nature 
of  sympathy  to  identify  its  possessor  with  its  object ; 
thus  it  is  with  the  mother ; her  first-born  is  as  the  apple 
of  her  eye.  Thus  Christ  feels  towards  all, — for  he  died 
for  all  as  dead. 

2.  There  is  another  reason.  It  is  a better  test  of  our 
compassion  and  benevolence  than  if  we  helped  Christ 
in  person.  He  desires  that  one  principle  of  action  in 
us  shall  be,  good  will  to  man.  Therefore,  although  he 
considers  all  our  good  will  and  kindness  to  men  as  shown 
to  himself,  yet  he  prefers  that  we  shall  consider  it  in 
part  as  done  to  them,  and  that  we  shall  sympathize 
with  him  in  this  pure  love  of  human  nature,  which 
pursues  it  to  the  extremities  of  its  folly,  and  the  abysses 
of  its  degradation. 

3.  There  is  a third  reason.  It  is  thus  a strong  test 
of  our  love  to  him  personally.  He  is  now  in  disguise. 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  203 

If  you  can  join  a party  only  when  it  is  triumphant,  you 
betray  a want  of  real  and  strong  attachment  to  their 
principles ; if  you  can  acknowledge  Christ,  only  when 
he  appears  in  external  splendor,  that  he  will  despise. 
The  test  now  applied  to  the  whole  human  family  is 
this : — will  you  make  common  cause  with  Christ  when 
his  cause  is  despised  and  persecuted  ? — will  you  labor, 
weep,  pray,  suffer,  expend,  or  die  for  human  nature  in 
its  lowest  state,  partly  for  its  sake,  and  chiefly  for  his  ? 

Another  point  is  suggested  by  the  subject  and  object 
of  our  meeting.  I am  addressing  a*  community,  to 
whom  applications  are  made  continually  for  the  gift  of 
their  property  for  the  benefit  of  other  people.  Now,  is 
this  right  ? Some  say,  c No.’  I must  answer,  that  it  is 
right ; it  is  blessed  in  those  who  apply ; it  is  merciful 
in  God  to  afford  us  the  opportunities  of  charity.  It  is 
blessed  to  us  in  the  fulfilment  of  God’s  precious  promi- 
ses to  the  liberal  soul. 

But  let  us  take  a closer  view  of  this  point.  Why 
are  we  not  called  upon  to  give  all  that  we  are  to  give, 
and  then  rest  for  a time,  and  prepare  ourselves  for 
another  onset  upon  our  sympathies  and  purses?  I 
will  tell  you,  my  brethren,  of  this  flourishing  com- 
mercial city ! many  reasons  why  it  is  not  best.  And 
the  first  is — 

1.  Your  'prosperity  would  be  your  ruin . It  would 
encrust  your  hearts  over  with  selfishness.  It  would 
tend  to  degrade  your  Christian  character.  The  very 
fact,  that  such  a question  is  entertained,  betrays  a 
state  of  mind  full  of  danger  to  a Christian.  You  cer- 
tainly take  a very  low  view  of  God’s  design  in  giving 
you  property,  if  you  love  money  for  its  own  sake ; if 
you  love  it  for  the  sake  of  promoting  your  own  grati- 


204 


SERMON  VIII. 


fications  ; — if  you  count  not  yourself  a steward  of  God’s 
property,  and  accountable  to  him  for  it  all ; — then  the 
more  you  have  the  worse.  Let  me  suggest  another 
consideration.  s 

2.  God  is  lifting  this  world  from  sin  and  degradation 
by  human  instruments.  He  has  himself  spared  no 
expense  in  the  work,  not  even  his  own  Son ; and  we 
are  most  graciously  permitted  to  participate  in  it.  This 
is  the  proper  view  to  take  of  these  calls  for  money, 
perpetually  returning.  If  it  is  not  to  promote  some 
branch  of  the  great  enterprise  which  lies  on  the  heart 
of  infinite  love,  and  taxes  the  resources  of  Heaven’s 
King,  then  do  not  contribute.  Benevolence  is  the 
law  of  his  empire ; but  what  is  benevolence  ? — to  grow 
weary  of  doing  good — to  wish  to  have  all  the  good  in 
one  form — to  do  it  one  time , and  then  live  in  selfish- 
ness ? Away  with  such  views,  my  brethren  ! If  they 
have  occupied  your  minds,  banish  them.  Let  your 
benevolence  to  man  be  like  the  morning  visits  of  the 
sun.  It  never  exclaims,  1 What ! has  this  begging 
earth  returned,  with  its  swarms  of  begging  creatures, 
taxing  my  treasures  of  light  and  warmth?’  Give, 
my  brethren  ! like  the  sun  ; give,  like  him  who  made 
the  sun,  and  appointed  it  the  emblem  of  his  perpetual 
and  munificent  goodness.  This  is,  probably,  the 
wealthiest  city  in  the  world.  Its  merchants  are 
princes.  They  ought  to  be  first  in  the  princely  work 
of  benevolence.  There  is  magnificence  of  expendi- 
ture, there  ought  to  be  munificence  in  charity.  What 
moral  sublimity  would  pertain  to  London,  if  we  could 
look  upon  its  mighty  commerce,  and  believe  that  it 
was  all  consecrated  to  the  promotion  of  Christ’s  king- 
dom, and  the  removal  of  human  misery ! Your  palaces 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  205 

would  be  more  splendid,  if  they  did  not  cast  their  daily 
shadows  on  so  many  wretched, — most  wretched  crea- 
tures. It  is  impossible  for  a mind,  properly  humanized, 
to  look  at  the  marks  of  grandeur  and  luxury  here 
accumulated,  without  the  recollection  of  the  contracted 
condition  of  thousands  of  your  citizens.  It  should  be 
the  earnest  prayer  of  every  lover  of  the  human  species, 
that  London  may  speedily  become  the  model  for  the 
world’s  beneficence,  the  great  instructor  of  mankind  in 
the  true  and  most  proper  uses  of  money. 

I must  now  explain,  more  specifically,  the  objects, 
plans,  and  claims  of  the  London  Female  Mission . 
Woman  is  the  object  of  its  holy  enterprise ; her  con- 
dition has  excited  our  compassion,  and  her  welfare  is 
the  goal  of  our  pursuits ; and  we  now  solicit  your 
kind  attention  to  those  views  of  her  state  which  have 
enlisted  our  hearts  in  this  enterprise  of  mercy.  Chris- 
tianity has  elevated  her,  and  greatly  blessed  her.  But 
we  indulge  a delusion  in  selecting  some  instances  of 
female  excellence,  which  are  merely  the  demonstration 
of  its  benign  power,  while  we  overlook  the  myriads, 
who  are  yet  without  the  sphere  of  its  direct  influence ; 
it  is  unfortunate  that  we  so  often  rest  with  complacency 
in  contemplating  what  Christianity  has  done , and 
may  do, — when  these  results  are  but  the  first  fruits 
of  a harvest, — instead  of  investigating  the  melancholy 
condition  of  those,  whose  future  elevation  may  yet 
add  gloriously  to  its  triumphs.  We  exhort,  then,  our 
fellow-Christians  to  behold  the  lovely  and  elevated 
character  of  the  mothers  and  daughters  in  Israel, — tc 
remember  that  the  contrast  between  them  and  their 
Pagan  ancestry  is  the  effect  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  exhort  them  to  turn  from  these  hundreds, 

18 


206 


SERMON  VIII. 


and  behold  the  thousands  who  are  untaught,  unrefined, 
and  unsanctified.  That  ignorance  can  give  place  to 
knowledge  ; those  hearts  are  capable  of  the  highest 
degrees  of  refinement ; those  Magdalenes  can  yet  be- 
come the  most  humble  and  grateful  worshippers  at  the 
Savior’s  feet,  and  sing  the  loudest,  sweetest  song  in 
heaven.  We  propose  not,  in  this  statement,  to  present 
the  reflection  of  the  whole  living  picture  of  female 
degradation.  If  we  shall  succeed  in  directing  the  at- 
tention of  philanthropists  to  the  subject  in  any  greater 
degree  ; if  we  can  induce  a more  earnest  examination 
into  the  condition  of  this  important  part  of  the  great 
social  system ; then  our  first  object  is  gained.  We 
ask  attention,  then,  to  the  present  condition  of  the 
female  sex  in  Christian  countries,  and  more  especially 
in  this  great  metropolis. 

Mothers . We  deem  the  maternal  relation  to  be 
one  of  the  most  important  in  society.  The  human 
character,  both  intellectual  and  moral — nay,  the  entire 
man,  physical,  intellectual,  moral,  and  social — is  ex- 
quisitely flexible  at  a certain  period  of  his  life.  This 
period  is  spent  in  closer  contact  with  the  mother  than 
with  any  other  being.  Her  influence  is,  consequently, 
the  most  powerful  in  forming  the  character  of  the 
future  man.  If  you  would  trace  the  crimes  and 
wretchedness  of  any  one  generation  to  their  most  im- 
mediate source,  you  would  find  them  in  the  influence 
of  mothers,  in  the  power  of  example  and  precept,  in 
the  neglect  of  restraint,  discipline,  and  cultivation. 
We  believe,  from  our  observation,  and  from  the  testi- 
mony of  God,  that  the  human  heart  is  depraved  ; that 
it  is  utterly  deranged.  But  we  also  believe,  that  the 
means  of  its  recovery  are  granted  to  man.  At  the 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  207 

most  important  period  of  his  life,  however,  he  is  igno- 
rant of  his  condition,  and  of  the  means  of  his  improve- 
ment. He  has  no  conception  of  the  nature  of  his  own 
beinsf.  Another  must  realize  it  for  him ; he  has  no 
estimate  of  the  mighty  issues  that  are  suspended  upon 
the  dispositions  which  he  indulges,  and  the  objects  he 
pursues.  Another  must  see  all  this  for  him  ; and, 
if  he  did  feel  it,  he  knows  not  by  what  means  his 
character  can  be  rightly  formed.  All  this  another  must 
know  for  him.  Now,  what  affects  us  in  the  matter  is, 
that  there  are  thousands  who  have  the  name,  and  oc- 
cupy the  station,  of  mothers,  to  whom  this  difficult 
and  important  trust  is  committed,  but  who  are  utterly 
unqualified  for  it.  They  may  not  be  deficient  in 
natural  affection,  and  in  the  qualifications  that  regard 
the  lower  wants  of  humanity ; but  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say,  that  for  all  the  higher  purposes  of  training  the 
human  mind  they  are  utterly  unqualified.  We  find 
widely  spread  the  fatal  defects  in  mothers.  They  are 
insensible  to  the  solemn  nature  and  responsibilities  of 
the  maternal  relation,  exceedingly  ignorant  of  the  du- 
ties connected  with  that  relation,  and  yet  more  ignorant 
of  the  mode  of  discharging  them.  Another  object  of 
our  attention  is, 

The  Young  Female . There  is  a large  number  of 
our  sex,  who  regard  females  of  a certain  class  in  no 
other  light  than  as  the  instruments  of  gratifying  their 
basest  desires.  The  basilisk  eyes  of  lust  are  fixed 
on  female  innocence  and  purity,  all  unguarded  as  it 
is  by  experience,  and  unsuspicious  of  the  first  steps 
of  seduction.  And  no  sacrifice  of  veracity  and  honor, 
of  time,  expense,  and  effort,  is  considered  too  costly  to 
secure  the  victim.  The  domestic  arrangements  of  the 


208 


SERMON  VIII. 


metropolis  require  annually  thousands  of  young  fe- 
males to  forsake  their  friends,  their  parents,  and  their 
accustomed  moral  restraints  ; and  we  are  quit^  con- 
fident that  hundreds  of  them  come  up,  like  a great 
holocaust,  to  be  offered  on  the  polluted  shrines  of  lust ! 
Not  more  truly  horrible,  nor  so  fatal,  is  the  march  of 
the  deluded  worshippers  to  Juggernaut’s  festivals. 
These  facts  have  arrested  our  attention.  And  we  be- 
lieve the  Church  will  yet  feel,  that  something  must  be 
done  to  guard  the  innocent  and  unsuspecting,  and  to 
stay  the  work  of  death. 

But  we  find  something  still  more  terrific; — there  is  a 
system  and  organization.  Seduction  has  become  a 
trade,  conducted  with  regularity,  and  with  business- 
tact.  Hundreds  of  trained  and  veteran  pimps  are  now  in 
the  field.  They  circulate  through  the  country,  they  are 
in  the  high  places,  and  in  the  humble  sections  of  the  me- 
tropolis. Their  hearts  are  like  steel,  and  their  con- 
sciences like  the  covering  of  Leviathan.  Their  plots 
are  devised  and  their  schemes  laid  with  the  skill  of 
long  experience.  Stimulated  by  the  love  of  money, 
reckless  of  the  interests  that  are  to  be  sacrificed  at 
every  successful  issue  of  their  hellish  plots, — nay, 
proud  of  that  success — they  are  now  at  work.  Yea, 
while  we  are  now  deliberating,  some  infernal  h/<nd  is 
spreading  the  toils.  The  victim  is  almost  sure  x>  fall. 
But  who  is  it  ? Oh  ! it  is  the  daughter  of  a pious 
widow,  whom  poverty  compels  to  send  away  her  last 
earthly  comfort.  It  is  a link  in  the  sweet  circle  of  an 
affectionate  family.  But  the  hour  of  their  chastisement 
has  come.  Their  peace,  their  honor,  their  hearts,  are 
to  feel  the  lightning’s  shock  ; the  blast  of  death  strikes 
one  of  their  loveliest  plants. 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  209 

Fellow-Christians  ! we  can  stand  by  and  behold  this 
no  longer;  something  must  be  done  for  these  two 
classes  of  females — the  criminal,  and  the  exposed.  And 
the  first  thing,  we  believe,  is  to  secure  the  attention  of 
Christians  to  the  actual  condition  of  society  in  Chris- 
tian countries,  and  particularly  in  our  large  cities.  It 
is  impossible  to  direct  the  energies  of  philanthropy  to 
any  object,  until  the  relative  importance  of  that  object 
is  felt.  The  evil  to  be  removed  must  be  contemplated 
in  the  detail  and  in  the  mass,  and  we  must  expect  to 
find  at  first  much  incredulity  on  the  subject.  Thus  it 
was  with  respect  to  the  destitution  of  Bibles,  and  the 
extent  of  intemperance  in  iVmerica.  When  the  first 
investigations  were  made,  the  results  were  incredible  to 
those,  who  had  become  acquainted  merely  with  some 
isolated  case,  and  rested  in  vague  conjectures  concern- 
ing the  actual  extent  of  these  evils.  The  results  of 
examination  were  indeed  appalling ; and,  at  first,  the 
statement  of  them  was  received  with  great  incredulity; 
we  are  not,  therefore,  surprised  to  find  that,  when  the 
first  investigations  were  made  in  New- York  on  the  sub- 
ject of  female  prostitution,  the  publication  created  quite 
a commotion.  The  political  journals  took  up  the  sub- 
ject with  violence  to  defend  the  reputation  of  the  city, 
and  to  repel  the  “ base  aspersions.”  An  exposure  was 
made  of  the  capital  embarked  in  furnishing  and  rent- 
ing of  houses  in  the  most  sumptuous  style,  of  the 
number  of  houses  inhabited  by  abandoned  females,  of 
the  number  of  married  men  who  patronized  them,  of 
the  number  of  annual  seductions,  and  of  the  untimely 
deaths,  and  (which  baffles  the  powers  of  numbers)  the 
anguish  and  despair  of  these  victims  of  criminal 
passion.  The  statements  were  denied  and  ridiculed 
18* 


210 


SERMON  VIII. 


by  the  wicked,  and  doubted  by  the  good.  Nor  have 
we  any  means  now  of  establishing  their  correctness, 
except  the  character  and  ability  of  the  persons  em- 
ployed in  gaining  the  information,  together  with  the 
analogous  results  in  other  branches  of  benevolent 
operation.  We  are,  accordingly,  not  surprised  to  find 
the  statistics  of  prostitution  m London  the  subject  of 
controversy,  nor  shall  we  be  surprised  to  find  the  num- 
bers already  given  rather  below  than  beyond  the 
reality. 

It  is  time  for  the  philanthropic  portions  of  the  com- 
munity to  direct  their  sympathetic  attention  toward 
those  two  classes  of  young  females — the  criminal  and 
the  exposed.  It  seems  to  be  the  glory  of  our  age,  that 
no  branch  of  human  misery  and  depravity — however 
tortuous  its  windings,  however  obscure  its  sources — 
shall  be  left  unexplored.  Organization,  union,  effort, 
for  reaching  degraded  humanity,  however  situated — 
for  removing  its  burdens,  for  lifting  it  to  the  enjoyment 
of  the  blessings  of  redemption — is  the  grand  principle 
of  the  Church.  And  God  grant  that  it  may  never  be 
abandoned  until  Satan  has  abandoned  his  throne  on 
earth ; but  that  there  may  be  more  union,  more  wis- 
dom, humility,  zeal,  and  energy.  We  are  quite  con- 
fident then  that  this  form  of  human  degradation  and 
misery  will  not  be  overlooked.  The  evil  is  too  great 
to  be  any  longer  disregarded.  While  the  cry  of  the 
heathen,  of  the  drunkard  and  his  family,  of  the  orphan, 
of  the  prisoner,  of  the  ignorant,  is  coming  up  to  the 
ears  of  Christian  sympathy,  Oh  ! let  a place  be  found 
in  this  miserable  group  for  the  immortals,  who  seem 
to  be,  by  their  circumstances,  shut  out  from  the  light 
of  the  Gospel  almost  as  effectually  as  the  heathen. 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  211 

]Nay,  if  we  were  not  moved  by  compassion  for  the 
wretched  victims  of  the  great  destroyer,  there  are  con- 
siderations sufficient,  connected  with  our  own  welfare, 
to  secure  our  earnest  attention  to  this  subject.  If  we 
regard  not  their  anguish — their  bitter  recollection  of 
days  of  innocence — their  shame  and  remorse — their 
awful  forebodings  ; — if  the  numbers  who  are  drinking 
these  bitter  waters, — if  the  tender  age  of  many  of  them, 
— the  former  loveliness  of  others — do  not  effect  us  ; or, 
rather,  if  our  consciences  will  permit  us  to  pass  by 
on  the  other  side,  and  say,  “ Be  ye  reclaimed,  be  ye 
saved” — let  us,  at  least,  consider  their  influence  on  that 
society,  of  which  we  form  a part,  and  in  whose  welfare 
we  have  so  deep  an  interest.  These  miserable  beings 
become,  in  their  turns,  the  corruptors  of  others.  All 
the  power  of  female  fascination  is  enlisted  against  so- 
ciety— many  of  them,  in  fact,  turn  upon  our  sex  with 
a spirit  of  desperate  revenge.  Such  was  declared,  in 
court,  to  have  been  the  feeling  and  purpose  of  an  un- 
fortunate girl  who  was  murdered  in  New-York  last 
winter.  Let  us,  then,  recollect  that  our  sons,  our 
brothers — the  young  men  of  promise  in  our  land — are 
not  proof  against  the  influence  of  those  whose  subtlety 
and  skill  has  been  so  graphically  noticed  by  Solomon : 
and  let  us  remember,  that  these  houses,  in  the  midst  of 
our  dwellings,  are  “the  chambers  of  death  and  the 
gates  to  hell” — that  our  strong  ones  are  enticed  thither, 
where  they  are  lost  to  society,  and  often  to  heaven. 

But,  while  we  have  thus  dwelt  at  some  length  upon 
one  department  of  our  labors,  perhaps  we  may  have 
conveyed  the  impression,  that  that  is  the  most  import- 
ant department  in  our  estimation.  But  this  is  not  the 
case.  All  the  children  of  the  poor  are  embraced  in  our 


212 


SERMON  VIII, 


plans.  We  aim  to  secure  the  formation  of  their  char- 
acter  at  home — to  make  that  sacred  place  (as  God  in- 
tended it  should  be)  the  school  in  which  man  shall 
learn  his  most  valuable  lessons.  We  aim,  in  a word, 
to  make  the  great  social  system  more  perfect, — as 
Christianity  is  designed  ultimately  to  make  it, — by 
establishing  a more  perfect  harmony  between  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body;  the  one  that  has  abundant  honor  and 
comfort  having  some  line  of  communication,  by  which 
it  may  learn  the  wants  and  sufferings  of  the  other,  and 
thus  sympathizing  with  it  and  imparting  to  it.  This 
practical  benevolence  is  just  what  God  has  so  fully  en- 
joined upon  us  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  more  im- 
pressively commended  and  commanded  in  the  New. 
The  Church  is  looking  and  praying  for  the  great  day 
of  Millennial  light  and  glory ; but  she  looks  for  it  in 
vain  without  that  action  which  God  has  enjoined  upon 
her.  And  that  work  is  to  be  done  in  the  detail.  We 
raise  large  sums  of  money,  and  send  abroad  our  mis- 
sionaries in  companies  of  five  and  ten,  but  those  mis- 
sioneries  must  at  last  come  down  to  minute  and  specific 
labor,  or  they  accomplish  nothing.  So  must  we  here. 
And  are  objects  around  us  too  abundant?  We  pro- 
pose, as  the  end  of  our  labors,  to  diminish  the  tempt- 
ations to  profligacy  in  the  case  of  both  sexes ; to  de- 
fend the  innocent  and  unsuspecting;  to  expose  the 
snares  of  the  destroyers ; to  spread  the  knowledge  of 
the  gospel  among  those  who  will  not  come  to  its  reg- 
ular ministrations;  to  diminish  the  amount  of  public 
crime  and  mendicity,  and  to  advance  the  general  in- 
formation of  human  minds.  In  a word,  we  hope  to  be 
the  honored,  though  unworthy,  instruments,  in  God’s 
hands,  of  banishing  much  actual  misery,  of  preventing 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  213 

still  more,  and  of  pointing,  successfully,  many  a perish- 
ing soul  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  Yes ; we  indulge  the 
hope  of  meeting,  when  the  toils  of  life  are  ended ; 
many,  very  many,  whom  God  will  give  us  as  the  seals 
of  our  labors,  rejoicing  in  his  immortal  glory.  We 
aspire  even  to  the  issue  of  seeing  immortal  spirits  res- 
cued from  ruin,  and  obtaining  the  bliss  of  heaven  for 
others,  and  the  rewards  of  grace  for  ourselves.  For 
we  believe  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  in  this  enter- 
prise. 

Brethren  ! the  Church  has  too  long  rested  in  a gene- 
ral acknowledgment  of  this  enormous  evil ; she  has  too 
long  doubted  the  mercy  and  the  promises  of  God.  We 
must  no  longer  stand  by  and  see  Satan’s  ravages ; be- 
hold all  the  wreck  of  the  dearest  human  interests,  and 
yet  do  nothing.  If  there  is  malice  towards  man  in  hell, 
there  must  be  love  on  earth  ; if  there  is  activity  there, 
then  there  must  be  energy  here.  Nay ; if  human  agents 
are  doing  the  work  of  darkness,  then  human  agents 
must  oppose  them  with  the  weapons  of  light.  If  there 
is  organization  here  for  destruction,  then  we  must  meet 
it  with  organization  for  defence  and  deliverance.  Our 
work  is  improvement,  prevention , cure.  All  are  feasi- 
ble with  God’s  approbation  and  blessing.  Having  given 
this  general  exposition  of  the  objects  of  the  Society, 
you  will  allow  me  to  state  the  several  branches  of  its 
operation. 

I.  The  Instruction  of  Mothers.  To  effect  this  a ma- 
tron is  selected,  of  the  requisite  qualifications  for  gain- 
ing easy  access  to  families,  for  adapting  herself  to  their 
circumstances,  and  for  instructing  and  counselling.  It 
will  be  her  object,  first,  to  find  a sufficient  number  of 
mothers  who  are  willing  to  receive  instruction,  and  to 


214 


SERMON  VIII. 


form  them  into  sections  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
then  to  enlist  some  benevolent  and  experienced  person, 
of  her  own  sex,  to  take  the  particular  charge  of  a sec- 
tion. After  forming  several  such  sections,  she  will 
make  a uniform  system  for  the  whole,  so  far  as  is  ne- 
cessary, and  superintend  and  direct  the  whole  enterprise 
of  these  maternal  meetings.  In  these  meetings  the  ob- 
ligations, the  duties,  and  the  encouragements  of  mothers, 
will  be  explained  and  enforced.  Children  will  then  be 
made  the  subjects  of  special  prayer ; but  more  of  the 
details  of  the  plan  will  be  communicated  by  the  Com 
mittee,  than  we  can  properly  introduce  here.  One  sub- 
ject, however,  of  especial  importance  we  may  add  in 
this  connection.  Poor  and  ignorant  mothers  must  be 
taught  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  children’s  danger. 
There  must  be  excited  in  them  a more  lively  abhor- 
rence of  the  first  step  towards  ruin,  and  they  must  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  snares  of  the  wicked.  They 
must  teach  and  warn  their  daughters.  They  have  a 
peculiar  commission  from  God  to  do  it,  and  the  dis- 
charge of  that  trust  must  be  urged  upon  them. 

II.  Young  Females.  We  propose  to  begin  with  the 
most  ignorant,  to  aim  at  improving  their  mental  con- 
dition, guarding  them  from  dangers,  and  to  labor  for 
their  eternal  salvation. 

III.  Young  Children.  We  do  not  wish  to  interfere 
with  the  systems  of  public  charitable  instruction  ; but 
there  is  a wide  field  of  usefulness  left  unoccupied,  after 
they  have  done  all  that  they  undertake.  If  other  In- 
stitutions are  accomplishing  all  that  is  necessary,  we 
shall  then  be  able  to  direct  our  energies  to  the  other  de- 
partments ; but  we  are  sure  that,  after  all  which  has 
been  done  to  secure  the  religious  education  of  poor  chil- 


PRACTICAL  LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  215 

dren,  the  field  is  yet  white,  very  wide,  and  inviting  a 
multitude  of  laborers. 

IY.  Females  of  Bad  Character.  Where  prevention 
comes  too  late,  we  attempt  a cure.  There  are  hundreds 
of  these  wretched  beings  who  can  yet  be  persuaded  to 
return  to  the  paths  of  virtue.  The  society  has  employed 
another  matron,  devoted  entirely  to  this  department. 
Her  duty  is  to  visit  them ; to  converse  with  them  ; to 
distribute  such  tracts  as  are  adapted  to  excite  their  fears, 
and  to  encourage  them  to  abandon  their  destructive 
ways.  Besides  those,  it  has  become  evident  that  there 
are  numbers  who  need  no  exhortation  ; they  want  di- 
rection. They  are  as  weary  as  galley  slaves  of  their 
horrible  bondage,  but  their  circumstances  chain  them. 
They  know  not  how  to  change,  nor  where  to  go.  They 
would  fain  return  to  their  friends,  but  the  door  is  closed 
against  them  there.  They  would  return  to  society,  but 
society  despises  them.  There  is,  then,  a most  import- 
ant part  for  Christian  kindness  to  act.  We  may  inter- 
cede delicately  with  friends,  and  we  may  have,  in 
future,  the  same  cheering  success  which  has  crowned 
our  past  efforts.  The  hearts  of  anxious  parents  have 
been  relieved,  their  prayers  answered,  the  dead  has 
been  brought  to  life,  the  lost  has  been  found.  This 
should  be  the  great  object  of  solicitude — to  have  them 
restored  to  the  friendship  and  guardianship  of  their  own 
kindred.  But,  where  this  is  impracticable, — as,  in  too 
many  cases,  they  have  no  friend,  no  parent,  no  home, — 
we  must  resort  to  the  established  method  of  forming 
asylums,  with  but  one  important  modification, — the  re- 
striction of  the  size  of  each  asylum, — not  allowing 
more  than  twenty  or  thirty  to  live  together. 

Such  are  the  objects  of  this  Society,  and  such  its  pro- 


216 


SERMON  VIII. 


posed  plan  of  usefulness.  Its  limited  means  have  ne- 
cessarily limited  its  action.  But  every  stage  of  its  infant 
history  is  marked  with  the  encouraging  impress  of  Di- 
vine goodness.  We  solicit  the  aid  of  the  Church  of 
God,  of  the  friends  of  mankind,  of  all  who  desire  the 
welfare  of  their  fellow  creatures.  Surely  the  Savior 
meant  to  embrace  these  very  classes  in  his  memorable 
description  of  the  judgment.  Surely  he  will  recognise 
our  efforts  in  this  behalf,  when  we  make  them  with 
reference  to  his  glory. 


SERMON  IX. 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION  CONNECTED  WITH 
THE  PROGRESS  OF  RELIGION. 


“ The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness , 6 Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the 
desert  a highway  for  our  God ! 5 Every  valley  shall 
be  exalted , and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be 
made  low , and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight , 
and  the  rough  places  plain , and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  revealed , and  all  flesh  shall  see  it 
together ; for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
it” — Isaiah  xl.  3 — 5. 

It  has  been  announced,  that  the  subject  of  discourse, 
this  evening,  would  be  the  connection  between  the 
Temperance-reformation  and  the  revival  of  Religion. 
I venture  to  expand  the  idea  a little  beyond  the  notice, 
and  say,  that  it  is  the  connection  between  the  Tem- 
perance-reformation and  the  Millennium. 

Isaiah,  in  the  striking  and  beautiful  passage  which 
has  been  quoted,  spoke  of  John  the  Baptist.  Our  au- 
thority for  this  assertion  is  the  direct  declaration  of  the 
Spirit  of  God ; the  record  is  contained  in  Matthew,  the 
third  chapter,  the  first  three  verses — “In  those  days 
19 


218 


SERMON  IX. 


came  John  the  Baptist,  preaching  in  the  wilderness 
of  Judea,  and  saying,  ‘ Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand.’  For  this  is  he,  that  was  spoken 
of  by  the  prophet  Esaias,  saying,  4 The  voice  of  one 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  make  his  paths  straight.’”  He  spoke  of  this 
eminent  man,  under  the  figure  of  the  herald  that  was 
accustomed  to  precede  the  great  monarchs  of  the  East, 
when  passing  through  the  desert — as  in  the  celebrated 
journey  of  the  queen  Semiramis,  when  a road  was 
made  through  the  vast  deserts  of  Western  Asia ; the 
mountains  were  levelled,  and  the  valleys  were  exalted, 
and  the  roads  too  circuitous  were  made  more  direct, 
and  the  rough  places  were  reduced  to  smoothness,  that 
the  sovereign  might  pass  with  ease,  and  in  suitable 
pomp  and  dignity.  Under  this  beautiful  imagery,  de- 
signing alone  the  moral  movement  of  the  Messiah,  and 
the  moral  preparation  for  his  advent,  and  his  reception 
in  the  hearts  of  men, — under  this  beautiful  imagery  is 
described  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  God  to  reign,  not 
in  temporal  power,  not  over  man  in  his  political  rela- 
tions and  interests,  but  over  man  in  his  moral  relations, 
man  in  his  affections,  man  in  his  moral,  spiritual  and 
eternal  interests. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  striking  in  comparing 
this  figurative  language  with  the  early  preaching  of 
the  herald  of  our  Redeemer.  “ Prepare  ye  the  way 
the  Messiah  is  to  come  like  one  of  those  oriental 
monarchs  in  their  visits  to  Palestine  or  to  Egypt, — is 
to  come  over  a vast  desert, — and,  when  he  comes,  he 
will  find  mountains  and  valleys  and  crooked  places 
.and  rough  places  impeding  his  march  ; all  ye  people  ! 
attend ; your  Sovereign  is  about  to  descend  from 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  219 

heaven,  and  march  athwart  this  wilderness,  and  come 
to  bring  redemption  to  his  people ; “ Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a high- 
way for  our  God  ; every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and 
every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low,  and  the 
crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places 
plain ;’  and  when  this  preparatory  work  is  accom- 
plished, “ the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and 
all'  flesh  shall  see  it  together.’7  Now  turn  to  the  preach- 
ing of  John  the  Baptist.  “ In  those  days  came  John 
the  Baptist  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  and 
saying,  Repent.”  In  the  fore-front  of  his  mission — the 
first  word  of  his  sermon  to  a guilty  world — is,  “ Re- 
pent.” And  what  is  the  meaning  of  repentance?  A 
change  of  mind.  About  what  ? About  your  life,  about 
your  maxims  and  principles  of  action,  about  the  objects 
of  your  heart’s  affection,  about  your  pursuits,  about 
your  personal  character  and  your  personal  conduct, 
about  your  business,  your  traffic,  your  social  inter- 
course,— every  thing  that  pertains  to  your  life  : go 
home,  and,  under  the  solemn  inspection  of  the  eye  of 
God,  read  your  heart,  and  read  your  life,  and  bring 
your  business  beneath  the  light  of  his  holy  law,  and 
see  whether  they  will  stand  the  presence  of  the  Son 
of  man,  who  is  coming  to  emancipate  the  human  soul; 
“ repent — repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand.”  And  then,  whatever  individual  man,  or  what- 
ever particular  class  of  men  presented  themselves  to 
the  Baptist,  he  directly  “ laid  the  axe  at  the  root  of” 
their  sin,  and  called  upon  them  not  to  plead  the  cus- 
toms of  society,  not  to  plead  their  belief  that  they  had 
been  right,  not  to  plead  the  fact  that  their  fathers  had 
done  so  before  them,  but  to  change  their  minds  and 


220 


SERMON  IX. 


change  their  practices,  and  thus  prepare  for  the  coming 
of  their  King.  “ Repent ! repent  !”■ — he  called  upon 
them  to  “ repent,”  to  humble  themselves,  to  deny  them- 
selves, to  reform  themselves,  and  thus  prepare  for  the 
blessings  of  the  new  dispensation. 

There  is  something  very  remarkable  in  the  prophe- 
cies of  the  Old  Testament.  We  learn  the  general 
principle  to  which  I refer,  from  the  practice  of  the 
New  Testament  writers  themselves ; it  is,  that  almost 
all  the  great  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament  have 
more  than  a single  meaning,  and  refer  to  more  than 
one  event.  And  it  is  evident,  that  this  coming  of  the 
Son  of  God  referred  not  merely  to  his  coming  in  the 
flesh,  not  merely  to  the  first  outpouring  of  his  Spirit, 
but  to  those  great  and  glorious  things  predicted  in 
other  parts  of  the  prophecies  concerning  days  that  are 
yet  to  come,  and  that  either  we,  or  our  posterity,  (per- 
haps not  very  far  distant,)  are  yet  to  see.  Who  can 
doubt  it,  with  this  Bible  in  his  hand,  that  there  is  to  be 
a vast  moral  renovation  ? who  can  doubt  it,  that  the 
arm  of  tyranny  is  to  be  broken  ? who  can  doubt  it,  that 
every  chain  of  slavery  is  to  cease  to  clank  upon  the 
creature  made  in  the  image  of  his  God?  who  can 
doubt  it,  that  the  Savior  and  Deliverer  of  mankind 
will  make  this  world  the  theatre  of  his  triumphs,  and 
here,  where  Satan  had  reigned,  the  Messiah  will  set 
up  his  throne  and  gather  his  laurels  and  triumph  over 
his  enemies  ? 

But  if  that  day  is  to  come,  when  “ the  earth  shall 
be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,”  when  “Holi- 
ness to  the  Lord”  shall  be  written  “ upon  the  bells  of 
the  horses”  and  the  vessels  of  our  culinary  establish- 
ments, evidently  there  must  be  vast  changes.  Whether 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  221 

it  is  this  generation,  whether  it  is  your  children,  whether 
it  is  the  generation  after  that  or  not,  whoever  it  be. 
they  will  be  a “repenting”  generation.  They  will 
not  plead  custom,  they  will  not  plead  that  their  fathers 
did  so,  and  that  good  men  do  so  still ; there  will  be 
vast  changes  of  views,  and  vast  changes  of  feeling, 
and  vast  changes  of  practice  ; and  there  will  be  the 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  “ Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a high- 
way for  our  God.” 

My  object,  this  evening,  is  to  describe  one  of  the 
mightiest  obstructions  to  the  influence  of  the  gospel 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  in  this  world.  My  object,  this 
evening,  is  to  describe  one  of  the  master-machinations 
of  the  prince  of  darkness  and  the  enemy  of  man.  My 
object,  this  night,  is  to  describe  one  of  the  most  fertile 
sources  of  the  temporal  wretchedness  and  immortal 
ruin  of  man,  that  Satan  has  let  loose  on  this  sin-pol- 
luted and  cursed  world.  My  object,  to-night,  is  to 
show  you  that  which  must  get  out  of  the  way,  that 
that  the  Messiah  may  come  and  reign  in  peace,  in 
purity,  in  righteousness  and  mercy,  over  this  wretched 
earth. 

With  the  Jews,  it  was  not  drunkenness,  but  religious 
error ; it  was  pride  of  heart,  it  was  superstitious  attach- 
ment to  forms  and  ceremonies,  to  which  the  Baptist 
alluded.  With  us,  it  is  worldliness  of  heart,  formality 
in  religion,  unbelief  of  the  declarations  and  promises  of 
God,  and  prayerlessness  m the  Church.  These  are  our 
heart-sins,  which  must  be  repented  of,  that  Christ  may 
come  in  greater  power  and  greater  glory  to  reign  in  the 
Church,  and  that  “salvation  may  come  out  of  Zion”  to 
reign  in  the  world.  But  these  are  heart-sins  ; there  is, 

19* 


222 


SERMON  IX. 


besides  these,  a lof  ty  and  rugged  mountain  which  must 
be  levelled.  The  habit  of  drinking  intoxicating  liquors, 
and,  of  course,  with  it,  the  entire  system  and  machinery 
of  making  and  vending  them,  is  one  of  the  grand  im- 
pediments to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah. 

I lay  down  three  propositions  to  be  established  in  the 
course  of  my  remarks. 

I.  The  first  is  this  ; — The  habit  of  using  intoxica- 
ting liquors  as  a beverage  is  one  grand  obstacle  to  the 
revival  of  pure  religion  and  the  coming  of  the  expected 
Millennium . 

I enter  first  on  explanation. 

I speak  of  these  substances  as  beverages — as  common 
drinks  taken  by  men  in  health,  not  by  sick  men.  I 
interfere  not  with  the  province  of  the  physician  ; I must 
say,  that  we  have  a point  to  debate  with  them ; but  now 
I interfere  not  with  them,  nor  with  their  prescriptions. 
I speak  of  these  substances  taken  as  beverages  by  men 
in  health,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  their  stimulating 
effect — for  personal  gratification — under  the  plea  of 
nourishment — and  for  the  sake  of  social,  convivial  en- 
joyment. The  idea  of  taking  every  day  a medicine  is 
too  preposterous  to  be  argued  against.  We  are  speak- 
ing of  them  now  simply  as  drinks,  as  beverages  taken 
by  men  in  health. 

I include  them  all — the  whole  range  of  ardent  spirit 
and  of  fermented  liquors,  wine  and  beer  and  cider,  with 
all  that  is  called  ardent  spirit; — I include  them  all. 
Their  identity  is  established,  in  every  way  that  the 
subject  admits.  No  man  doubts,  that  the  use  of  ardent 
spirit  is  in  the  way  way  of  the  progress  of  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ ; but  a distinction  has  been  made,  and  it  is 
against  that  distinction  I now  direct  my  attack.  If 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  223. 


truth  is  with  me,  believe  me ; if  not,  let  it  pass,  as  the 
opinion  of  an  individual,  or  of  many  individuals,  not 
established  by  argument. 

I repeat  it,  that  under  this  proposition  1 include  all 
that  can  intoxicate,  used  as  a beverage.  My  proposi- 
tion is  that  no  man  has  a right  to  use  intoxicating  be- 
verages ; he  may  have  a right  to  use  intoxicating  medi- 
cines, but  not  to  drink  them  for  his  pleasure,  and  under 
the  absurd  notion  of  nourishment  and  for  the  purposes 
of  convivial  enjoyment. 

The  identity  of  all  these  substances,  I remark,  is 
established  in  every  way  that  the  subject  admits.  We 
go  first  to  the  chemist.  We  ask  him,  what  is  the  in- 
toxicating principle  in  ardent  spirits  ? He  goes  into  a 
minute  analysis ; he  separates  that  from  them  which 
intoxicates,  and  which  alone  intoxicates ; he  says  it  is 
alcohol — a substance  discovered  in  the  ninth  century  : 
he  says  it  is  alcohol,  modified  as  it  may  be.  We  go  to 
the  physiologist,  and  we  ask  him  what  he  thinks  of  its 
effects  upon  the  constitution  of  man  ? He  says,  that, 
when  it  goes  into  the  human  system,  it  may  go  in  con- 
nection with  sugar,  with  wine,  with  various  coloring 
matters,  with  many  other  substances,  and  that  all  that 
goes  in  with  it  undergoes  the  healthful  natural  process 
of  digestion,  but  that  alcohol  works  its  way  pure  and 
separate  out  of  the  stomach  into  the  blood-vessels,  and 
from  the  blood-vessels  into  other  vessels,  burning  and 
scorching  its  way  along  the  whole  line  of  life,  until  the 
laboring  struggling  system  throws  it  out  at  some  one 
of  its  great  operations.  £ This  is  alcohol/  says  the  phy- 
siologist. We  turn  back  to  the  chemist ; we  ask  him, 
£ls  there  any  difference  between  alcohol  in  ardent 
spirits,  and  alcohol  in  wine  or  beer  or  cider  V He  says, 


224 


SERMON  IX. 


6 No/  4 Why  ? where  is  your  proof?5  Mr.  Brande  says— 
“ I have  tried  whether  it  is  the  heat  in  distillation  that 
makes  the  alcohol,  and  I have  proved  that  it  is  not ; 
for  I got  alcohol  out  of  wine  without  subjecting  it  to 
the  heat  of  distillation ; I got  alcohol  out  of  beer  and 
out  of  cider,  not  by  heat ; and  I find  that  alcohol  is  the 
result  of  the  second  process  of  certain  decaying  vegeta- 
ble and  animal  substances  rushing  to  putrefaction 
and  if  man  would  let  them  go,  and  not  stay  them  by 
any  process,  in  a little  while  the  substance  would  be  a 
mass  of  putrefaction ; but  man  has  learned  to  stop  it, 
and  apply  it  to  purposes,  for  which  the  God  of  nature 
never  meant  it  to  be  applied.  When  a man  finds,  that, 
by  laying  fire  upon  the  skin,  the  skin  is  burned,  although 
fire  is  a creature  of  God,  he  gathers  from  the  fact  a great 
law — that  God  intended  that  he  should  not  put  fire 
upon  his  skin ; and  when  a man  finds,  that,  if  he  puts 
alcohol  into  his  stomach,  it  burns  the  stomach,  and 
burns  the  brain,  and  burns  the  soul,  he  gets  at  a great 
law  of  God — that  he  should  not  put  alcohol  into  his 
stomach.  It  is  one  of  the  most  absurd  arguments — 
‘ that  it  is  a u good55  creature  of  God.5 

I wish  to  nail  the  great  principles  of  this  argument 
firmly  on  your  judgment  and  conscience ; but  I have 
not  time  to  dwell  upon  them.  So  much,  therefore,  foi 
the  examination  by  the  chemist  and  the  physiologist. 
The  question  about  alcohol  in  the  abstract  is  of  little 
avail  to  us ; we  do  not  want  to  know  what  it  is,  where 
it  is , or  where  it  is  not  found ; but  when  we  find  it  thus 
affecting  the  delicate  frame  of  man,  and  (above  all) 
rising  up  into  the  brain,  and  going  into  the  soul,  and 
blighting  and  desolating  its  energies  and  paralyzing  its 
sweetest  affections,  then  it  becomes  appropriate  to  intro- 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  225 

duce  the  discussion  of  it  into  the  solemn  debates,  the 
solemn  instructions,  the  solemn  exhortations  of  the 
pulpit. 

We  have  already  said,  that  all  these  substances  have 
the  same  effect.  Man  can  be  made  drunk  on  ardent 
spirit,  on  wine,  on  beer,  on  cider.  Therefore  they  are 
all  intoxicating  substances.  And,  in  fine,  as  I have  re- 
marked, the  intoxicating  principle  in  each  is  the  same 
thing  ; the  only  difference  is  in  the  degree  and  amount 
of  intoxicating  substance  contained  in  each.  We  find 
that  this  dreadful  substance,  when  introduced  into  the 
human  frame,  remains  undigested  we  find  it  coursing 
through  the  system,  to  paralyze  its  energies,  to  pollute 
the  heart,  to  destroy  the  conscience,  to  ripen  for  crime, 
to  enervate  every  noble  faculty,  to  repress  every  aspira- 
tion of  the  soul  after  happiness,  holiness,  and  immortal 
glory.  We  say,  that  this  is  the  tendency  of  all  these 
substances — of  all ; we  say,  that  the  characteristics  of 
alcohol  are  unique  in  all,  and  we  challenge  the  denial 
of  it.  The  difference  in  effect  is  a difference  of  degree, 
not  of  kind.  When  Noah  took  the  fermented  juice  of 
the  grape  and  became  drunk,  he  was  as  really  drunk 
as  the  beer-drinker  and  the  gin-drinker  in  your  streets. 
When  Lot  drank  the  fermented  juice  of  the  grape,  he 
became  drunk  and  committed  incest,  as  men  now  be- 
come drunk  on  gin,  brandy  and  rum,  and  commit  in- 
cest. It  is  the  same  thing,  and  it  is  absurd  to  draw  a 
line  of  distinction.  When  Alexander  the  Great  became 
drunk  and  killed  his  friend,  and  when  he  became  drunk 
and  died,  a sot,  and  a beast,  it  was  on  wine ; and  it  is 
just  as  bad  to  get  drunk,  and  murder  drunk,  and  die 
drunk,  on  wine,  as  it  is  on  beer  and  spirit.  When 
Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram,  got  drunk  on  intoxicating 


226 


SERMON  IX. 


fluid,  they  put  the  unhallowed  hand  to  the  altar  ol  God 
and  perished  in  their  sink ; and  God  made  from  it  a 
law,  that  the  priests,  when  they  went  to  minister  at  his 
altar,  should  never  pollute  themselves  with  it.  The 
voice  sounds  from  all  Asia—  ‘ It  is  alcohol,  that  is 
making  all  the  natives  drunk.5  It  is  alcohol  in  Europe, 
it  is  alcohol  in  Africa,  it  is  alcohol  in  America,  it  is  al- 
cohol in  the  islands  of  the  sea — alcohol  ! alcohol ! the 
minister  of  hell,  that  has  come  to  blight  and  curse  this 
lovely  earth,  and  this  already-oppressed  family  of  man. 
It  is  against  alcohol,  not  in  place,  not  as  a chemical 
substance,  not  as  God  means  it  shall  be  used,  (for  he 
has  a purpose  in  it,)  but  alcohol  as  a beverage,  alcohol 
handed  round  the  table,  alcohol  drunk  to  promote 
health,  alcohol  drunk  to  promote  the  flow  of  social 
feeling — against  that  we  point  our  admonition,  against 
that  we  lift  our  remonstrance,  and  that  we  say  must 
get  out  of  the  way, — this  “ mountain55  must  come  down, 
that  Messiah  may  come  and  reign. 

I have  now  simply  explained  myself  on  this  propo- 
sition. I offer  a few  remarks  to  prove  it  more  directly. 
I repeat  the  proposition  ; — The  habit  of  using  intoxi- 
cating liquors  as  a beverage  is  one  great  obstacle  to  the 
revival  of  pure  religion  and  the  coming  of  the  expected 
Millennium. 

I begin  on  the  very  lowest  ground  of  proof — that,  if 
they  do  not  hurt,  they  do  no  good.  It  is  a waste  of  the 
money,  that  ought  to  buy  Bibles  for  the  heathen  and 
bread  for  the  poor.  They  are  of  no  use.  I am  as 
happy  in  drinking  cold  water,  as  the  wine-drinker  in 
drinking  wine.  I have  tried  both  sides,  and  I would 
not  exchange  feelings  with  him.  He  has  abandoned 
the  *cold  water,  that  was  the  drink  of  our  first  father,. 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  227 

(for  there  was  neither  brewery  nor  distillery  in  Eden,) 
and  he  has  got  now  into  the  sparkling  circle,  where 
the  gaiety  is  delusive ; but  if  he  would  only  come  back 
to  that  which  was  the  drink  of  Adam  in  Paradise,  he 
would  find,  that  God  had  made  cold  water  as  the  bev- 
erage of  man,  and  that  cold  water  was  most  consistent 
with  physical  health,  with  intellectual  energy,  with 
moral  purity,  with  domestic  affection,  with  religious 
sensibility.  These  beverages  are  all  useless. 

Then  they  are  worse.  I will  not  stand,  this  night, 
to  say  how  much  a man  must  drink  in  order  to  be 
drunk.  I wish  to  be  most  distinctly  understood  in  my 
statements  on  this  subject ; I say,  that  the  tendency  of 
one  drop  is  just  as  much  as  a drop  can  do  ; and  when 
you  put  two  drops  into  the  system,  it  is  twice  as  much ; 
and  when  four  drops,  it  is  four  times  as  much ; and 
when  five  drops,  it  is  five  times  as  much ; and  I know 
not  the  line  where  you  begin  to  see  the  effects.  I 
speak  of  the  tendency  of  these  drinks ; it  is  on  the 
tendency  that  I fasten  my  argument ; the  tendency  of 
them  always  is  to  produce  the  demoralizing  effects, 
that  you  witness  on  a broader  scale  when  they  are 
taken  in  larger  quantities.  And  here  I state  the  fact, 
which  first  convinced  my  own  mind.  When  I first 
heard  Dr.  Hewitt  deliver  a lecture,  on  ardent  spirit 
alone,  it  seemed  to  me  the  most  ridiculous  thing  I ever 
heard  of,  and  therefore  I am  prepared  to  expect  that 
others  may  think  it  very  absurd  to-night ; it  seemed  to 
me  the  most  Quixotic  undertaking  I had  ever  heard 
of,  and  a feeling  of  independence  arose  in  my  mind,  and 
I said — “ What ! is  this  man  coming  to  take  my  brandy 
and  water  from  me  ? I will  never  give  it  up.”  It  was 
a resolution  formed  hastily  and  ignorantly.  Blessed 


228 


SERMON  IX. 


be  God  for  the  firmness  and  wisdom  to  overcome  that 
wicked  resolution  ! The  light  has  broken  in  upon  my 
mind  slowly,  and  I am  therefore  prepared  to  expect 
that  many  may  think  me  ridiculous  now  ; but  my 
mission,  to-night,  is,  as  a man,  to  speak  the  truth  with- 
out hesitation, — not  to  dogmatize,  but  to  leave  every 
one  to  answer  in  this  matter  before  his  conscience  and 
before  his  God.  You  will  excuse  me  if  I speak 
strongly,  for  I feel  strongly ; you  will  excuse  me,  if  I 
speak  firmly,  for  I think  I see  the  truth  like  a sun- 
beam. Now  the  first  thing,  which  convinced  me  that 
1 must  come  out  from  the  moderate  system,  to  that 
which  has  been  familiarly  denominated  the  tee-total 
system,  was  this — that  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
there  is  no  security  whatever,  (buy  your  wine  where 
you  will,)  that  you  are  not  drinking  ardent  spirits  dis- 
guised. And  I venture  to  say,  the  probabilities  are 
three  or  four  to  one  even  in  Great  Britain,  that  your 
wines  are  composed  of  rum,  or  gin,  or  brandy,  of  the 
worst  kind.  The  man  that  sits  down  with  his  friend, 
to  quaff  the  substance  which  he  calls  wine,  may  have 
to  say  what  I heard  a minister  say  the  day  before  yes- 
terday— « Oh  ! this  is  very  vile  stuff.”  Yes,  so  it  may 
be  ; and  so  it  is  ; we  have  analyzed  champaign  in  our 
country,  and  we  have  found  it  sugar  of  lead  diluted 
and  disguised.  Think  of  a man  sitting  down  with  his 
friend  to  quaff  sugar  of  lead — one  of  the  most  poison- 
ous substances ! I say,  that  the  tendency  of  the 
whole  family  of  them  is  destructive  and  injurious,  al- 
though one  may  so  limit  himself  as  not  to  reach  the 
degree  perceptible  to  his  own  mind. 

And  I affirm  further,  that  their  moderate  use  forms, 
in  every  case  of  immoderate  use,  the  first  stage.  I had 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  229 

occasion,  last  evening,  to  introduce  an  illustration  of 
this  on  the  platform ; I simply  now  state  the  abstract 
principle.  No  man  ever  becomes  a drunkard,  but  by 
beginning  to  drink  moderately;  and  as  long  as  the 
world  continues  to  drink  moderately,  the  world  will  be 
full  of  drunkards  ; and  until  the  world  ceases  to  drink 
moderately,  the  world  will  not  be  delivered  from  the 
evils  that  flow  from  intemperance.  The  moderate  use 
of  these  substances  will  perpetuate  the  immoderate. 

I refer  now,  further  to  establish  my  proposition,  to 
the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures — the  testimony  of  the 
Bible  with  regard  to  the  effect  of  intoxicating  sub- 
stances on  man  as  a moral  and  religious  being.  I will 
not  now  go  over  the  large  class  of  texts,  that  do  most 
distinctly  reprobate  “ wine”  and  “ strong  drink”  in  the 
Bible  ; I shall  come  to  them  in  the  course  of  my  argu- 
ment. 1 speak  at  present  of  the  examples  it  sets  before 
us ; as  in  the  case  of  Lot,  where  his  incest,  his  awful 
and  abominable  crime  with  his  own  daughters,  is 
traced  directly  up  to  the  use  of  wine.  And  it  is  strange, 
that  the  first  thing  that  the  Bible  tells  us  about  wine? 
the  first  picture  of  it,  that  is  painted  upon  its  canvass, 
is  drunken  Noah  ; and  the  next  is  drunken  Lot ; as  if 
it  would  tell  the  world — “ There  is  the  beginning  of 
the  dreadful  chapter  of  drinking !”  The  Bible  says, 
that  “whoredom  and  wine  take  away  the  heart;” it 
puts  it  with  whoredom.  “ Take  away  the  heart !” 
That  which  “ takes  away  the  heart”  is  a hindrance  to 
the  revival  of  religion  and  the  introduction  of  the  Mil- 
lennium. 

Take  the  testimony  of  judges ; take  the  testimony 
of  jailors,  who  have  had  close  intercourse  with  pris- 
oners and  examined  their  history.  They  tell  us,  that, 
20 


230 


SERMON  IX. 


every  where,  three-fourths  of  the  crimes  committed  are 
traced  back  to  the  use  of  these  substances, — perverting, 
blinding,  benumbing  the  conscience, — hindering  that 
sensibility  from  its  exercise  which  inclines  man  to 
good,  and  strengthening  that  sensibility  in  its  exercise 
which  inclines  man  to  evil. 

So  much  for  my  first  proposition.  The  habit  of 
using  intoxicating  liquors  as  a beverage  is  one  grand 
obstacle  to  the  revival  of  pure  religion  and  the  coming 
of  the  expected  Millennium. 

II.  My  second  proposition  is — That  the  total  cessa- 
tion from  the  said  use  is  in  accordance  with  the  Bible . 
No  man  need  be  afraid  of  going  against  the  Bible  by 
giving  up  the  use  of  these  beverages. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  total  abstinence  is  recommended 
by  Scripture  principles.  When  the  apostle  says,  “ It 
is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  any 
thing  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  01 
is  made  weak  “If  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  1 
will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth  he  simply 
brings  forward  this  great  principle.  Even  if  it  were 
true  that  our  Savior  made  intoxicating  drinks,  even  if 
it  were  true  that  he  used  them,  or  that  he  gave  them  to 
others, — yet,  in  the  face  of  that,  Paul  says  there  may 
come  a state  of  things,  in  which  it  would  be  my  duty  to 
give  up  wine,  and  I woidd  do  it  then  ; if  wine  “ make 
my  brother  to  offend,”  I will  give  it  up,  I will  abandon 
it.  This  is  the  great  principle  of  benevolence.  And  I 
ask,  if  we  have  not  come  into  those  circumstances 
now,  when,  with  the  fabricated  wine  of  our  modern 
communities,  we  can  get  nothing  but  ardent  spirits 
diluted  and  disguised,  and  when  we  cannot  get  the 
beer-bottle  and  the  gin-bottle  out  of  the  hand  of  the 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  231 

poor  drunkard,  unless  we  will  sweep  away  all  these 
substances  together ; — I ask,  whether  we  have  not  come 
to  that  very  juncture  in  human  affairs,  when  the  apos- 
tle Paul  would  say,  “ I will  give  up  these  beverages,  I 
will  sign  the  Temperance-pledge,  and  I will  give  the 
poor  drunkard  the  force  of  my  example,  that  he  may 
follow  me  and  may  get  away  from  the  source  of  his 
wretchedness.” 

If  all  men  would  act  upon  these  principles,  the 
world  would  get  rid  of  drunkenness  at  once.  If  any 
one  stands  up  on  a temperance  platform  to  descant 
on  the  evils  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and,  in  order  to 
quench  his  own  thirst,  lifts  the  wine  glass  to  his  lips, 
I apprehend  that  his  own  conscience  will  condemn 
him,  and  the  common  sense  of  the  world  will  hiss  him 
from  the  stage.  There  is  something  in  man  that  ad- 
mires consistency  ; and  it  is  impossible  for  a man,  who 
avows  himself  a drinker  of  intoxicating  liquors  on  a 
moderate  scale,  to  make  any  effectual  appeal  to  those 
that  are  getting  drunk  upon  ardent  spirits. 

2.  I take  the  Scripture  examples , that  show  it  is  in 
accordance  with  Scripture  totally  to  abstain.  I take 
the  example  of  the  Nazarites,  that  were  to  be  a pecu- 
liarly pure  and  select  and  favored  class  of  men ; and 
one  of  the  indispensable  injunctions  to  them  was,  that 
they  should  never  touch  strong  drink ; — of  that  Sam- 
son, who  was  to  be  the  strongest  man  in  Israel,  and, 
therefore,  was  not  to  be  a drinker  of  intoxicating  li- 
quors. I take  the  case  of  Daniel  and  his  companions  ; 
and  I dwell  upon  it  with  much  interest  in  this  view. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon,  ordered  that 
certain  men  should  be  brought  before  him,  “ children 
in  whom  was  no  blemish,  but  well  favored,  and  skilful 


232 


SERMON  IX. 


in  all  wisdom,  and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and  under- 
standing science,  and  such  as  had  ability  in  them  to 
stand  in  the  king’s  palace,  and  whom  they  might  teach 
the  learning  and  the  tongue  of  the  Chaldeans.”  These 
were  to  be  selected  from  the  children  of  Israel  then  in 
captivity ; and  the  king  in  his  kindness,  and  according 
to  the  light  he  possessed,  “ appointed  them  a daily 
provision  of  the  king’s  meat,  and  of  the  wine  which 
he  drank  : so  nourishing  them  three  years,  that  at  the 
end  thereof  they  might  stand  before  the  king.  Now 
among  these  were,  of  the  children  of  Judah,  Daniel, 
Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah;  unto  whom  the 
prince  of  the  eunuchs  gave  names  ; for  he  gave  unto 
Daniel  the  name  of  Belteshazzar  ; and  to  Hananiah,  of 
Shadrach ; and  to  Mishael,  of  Meshach ; and  to  Aza- 
riah, of  Abed-nego.  But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart 
that  he  would  not  defile  himself  with  the  portion 
of  the  king’s  meat,  nor  with  the  wine  which  he  drank  ; 
therefore  he  requested  of  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs 
that  he  might  not  defile  himself.  Now  God  had 
brought  Daniel  into  favor  and  tender  love  with  the 
prince  of  the  eunuchs ; and  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs 
said  unto  Daniel, — £ I fear  my  lord  the  king,  who  hath 
appointed  your  meat  and  your  drink  ; for  why  should 
he  see  your  faces  worse  liking  than  the  children  which 
are  of  your  sort  ? then  shall  ye  make  me  endanger  my 
head  to  the  king ” — he  was  one  of  those  believers  in 
the  nutritious  and  healthful  effects  of  wine : — “ Then 
said  Daniel  to  Melzar,  whom  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs 
had  set  over  Daniel,  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azaria, — 

‘ Prove  thy  servants,  I beseech  thee,  ten  days ; and  let 
them  give  us  pulse  to  eat,  and  water  to  drink ; — 
(“  water”  said  this  wise  man,  “ water  to  drink,)”— then 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  233 

let  our  countenances  be  looked  upon  before  thee,  and 
the  countenance  of  the  children  that  eat  of  the  portion 
of  the  king’s  meat : and  as  thou  seest,  deal  with  thy 
servants.’  So  he  consented  to  them  in  this  matter,  and 
proved  them  ten  days.  And  at  the  end  of  ten  days 
their  countenances  appeared  fairer  and  fatter  in  flesh, 
than  all  the  children  which  did  eat  the  portion  of  the 
king’s  meat.  Thus  Melzar  took  away  the  portion 
of  their  meat,  and  the  wine  that  they  should  drink; 
and  gave  them  pulse.  As  for  these  four  children, 
God  gave  them  knowledge  and  skill  in  all  learning 
and  wisdom.”  It  will  be  very  safe  to  follow  Daniel’s 
example — physically  and  morally  safe.  It  will  be 
very  safe  also  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Rechabites, 
that  were  a Temperance-Society  for  so  many  ages  in 
the  midst  of  the  surrounding  drunkenness  of  Israel. 
It  will  be  very  safe  to  follow  the  example  of  Timothy, 
who  was  so  much  addicted  (so  entirely  addicted)  to 
the  use  of  cold  water  as  a beverage,  that,  when  he 
became  sick  and  needed  wine  as  a medicine,  the  apos- 
tle had  to  recommend  it  to  him,  and  actually  to  enjoin 
it  upon  him  to  take  it.  Timothy,  then,  was  a cold- 
water-drinker. 

3.  I take  Scripture  precepts  upon  the  subject.  I 
will  mention  only  two,  and  pass  rapidly  on.  “ Look 
not  upon  the  wine,  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its 
color  in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright.”  “ Wine 
is  a mocker ;”  and  if  God  tells  man  to  put  himself 
under  the  influence  of  “ a mocker,”  then  we  under- 
stand not  the  meaning  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  was 
given  to  “ make  us  wise  unto  salvation.” 

III.  I pass  on  to  my  third  and  last  proposition- — 
That  the  total  cessation  from  the  vise  of  intoxicating 
20* 


234 


SERMON  IX. 


liquors  as  a beverage  is  necessary  for  the  universal 
spread  of  the  gospel. 

And  I establish  this  proposition,  first,  by  the  actual 
effects  of  these  substances,  and  of  abstinence  from  them. 
And  I wish  you  to  look  minutely  into  this  point. 

Look  at  this  effect.  In  the  city  of  London  there  is 
a large  number  of  persons,  that  occasionally  may  feel 
inclined  to  go  to  church  ; but  one  of  them  is  a mother, 
and  she  has  not  a garment  with  which  a woman  of 
proper  feeling  can  bear  to  appear  in  a public  assembly. 
And  why  not?  Because  her  husband  has  used  up  all 
their  substance  at  the  gin-shop.  If  that  husband  would 
cease  to  drink  intoxicating  liquor — if  he  were  not 
made  indolent  by  it  and  prodigal  by  it,  and  did  not 
waste  just  so  much  of  his  daily  earnings — he  could 
buy  the  proper  dress  for  his  wife  and  his  children, 
and  then  that  wife  and  those  children  could  go  to 
church  in  proper  character.  I have  no  doubt  that 
there  are  hundreds  of  such  cases ; and  just  so  long  as 
the  use  of  these  beverages  exists,  there  will  be  a large 
portion  of  the  poorer  classes  actually  kept  out  of  the 
church,  and  out  of  gospel-institutions,  for  the  want  of 
proper  clothing. 

I ask  you  to  look  at  another  fact.  A large  number 
of  men  are  now  unwilling  to  go  to  church,  and  indif- 
ferent about  it.  because  they  are  continually  stupified, 
and  their  religious  sensibilities  deadened,  by  the  use 
of  these  intoxicating  liquors.  And  as  long  as  they 
continue  to  use  them  it  will  be  so;  but  as  soon  as 
that  spell  is  taken  off,  conscience  will  awake,  and  the 
solemn  striving  of  the  Spirit  of  God  with  their  souls 
will  make  them  feel  that  the  sanctuary  is  the  place  for 
them,  and  they  must  go  to  the  sanctuary. 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  235 

Look,  I ask  you,  further  still.  There  are  hundreds 
who  come  to  our  churches,  whom  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits  entirely  unfits  to  hear  the  gospel.  It  is  not 
the  eye  fixed  upon  the  minister,  it  is  not  the  ear  listen- 
ing to  the  minister,  it  is  the  awakened  heart  receiving 
the  message  of  the  minister,  that  the  minister  wants ; and 
I will  venture  to  say,  that  every  drop  of  intoxicating 
liquor  taken  has  a tendency  when  taken,  (I  will  not 
say  to  what  extent  the  drop  may  go,  but  that  it  has  a 
tendency)  to  interfere  with  the  profitable  hearing  of  the 
gospel.  And  I go  further,  and  say,  that  the  congrega- 
tion, who  should  see  the  minister  in  the  pulpit  sit  down 
and  drink  two  glasses  of  wine,  would  hardly  stay  to 
hear  him  preach.  And  why?  They  would  feel  that 
there  was  something  like  unhallowed  fire  about  him. 
And  yet  they  are  willing  enough  to  have  their  minister 
go  down  from  the  pulpit,  and  drink  his  wine  in  private. 
My  friends ! I believe  that  the  world  is  nearer  right 
than  the  world  believes,  and  that,  if  we  could  get  at  the 
secret  consciences  of  men,  they  would  be  with  us  on 
this  subject.  We  know,  that  if  the  declaration  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  true,  there  is  a class  of  men  who  are  the  “ stony 
ground”  and  the  “ way-side”  hearers;  and  of  all  hearers, 
surely  the  drinkers  and  the  tipplers  of  intoxicating 
liquors  are  the  persons.  We  venture  to  say,  that  if  the 
principles  of  our  Society  could  universally  prevail,  one 
of  the  chief  temptations  to  thousands  to  stay  away  from 
the  sanctuary — the  enjoyments  of  the  ale-house  on  the 
Sabbath — would  be  withdrawn  ; and  when  that  plea- 
sure is  withdrawn,  they  would  come  soberly  and  so- 
lemnly to  the  house  of  God. 

There  is  another  consideration.  When  the  use  of 
these  substances  ceases,  there  will  be  fewer  temptations 


236 


SERMON  IX. 


to  backsliding  in  the  church.  Yery  early  in  the  history 
of  the  church  over  which  God  made  me  pastor,  we  in- 
troduced the  Temperance  reformation,  and  applied  it  to 
every  person  seeking  for  admission  ; and  the  effect  has 
been,  that  that  church  has  been  less  cursed  with  drunken 
members  and  doubtful  members,  (doubtful  as  to  their 
sobriety,)  than  most  of  the  churches  with  which  I have 
been  acquainted.  We  have  sent  a circular  on  this  sub- 
ject to  the  ministers  of  the  United  States,  and  the  re- 
turns are  most  frightful — that  a large  class  of  the  trou- 
blesome cases  have  arisen  from  drunkenness,  and  that 
there  is  an  immense  temptation  to  backsliding  in  the 
instance  of  those,  that  are  all  their  days  walking  on  the 
borders  of  intoxication.  Is  it  not  dangerous  to  be  stand- 
ing upon  the  frontier  line  of  the  enemy  every  day  ? is 
it  not  dangerous  to  “ look  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 
when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth 
itself  aright,57  because  “at  the  last  it  may  bite  like  a ser 
pent  and  sting  like  an  adder  ?77 

I believe,  in  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  although  I may 
not  be  able  to  prove  it  to  others,  that  if  these  substances 
were  swept  from  our  churches,  the  solemn  and  fervent 
spirit  of  prayer  would  increase  at  once.  I believe  that 
it  is  a grand  represser  of  prayer.  I believe  that  the 
man  who  has  taken  three  or  four  glasses  of  wine  at  his 
dinner,  feels  very  unlike  one  going  to  prayer,  and  very 
unlike  one  going  to  weep  at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

I believe  that  if  abstinence  from  intoxicating  liquors 
prevailed  and  spread,  there  would  be  more  money  and 
more  self-denial  brought  to  the  work  of  God  in  the 
world.  We  were  told  last  night,  that,  in  four  counties 
in  Wales,  where  the  cause  of  Temperance  has  spread 
most  gloriously  in  the  last  year,  their  donations  to  the 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  237 

cause  of  Jesus  Christ  have  increased  in  this  one  year 
by  six  hundred  pounds.  They  have  saved  it,  and  their 
hearts  are  made  more  liberal ; and  this  money  is  cheer- 
fully consecrated  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
through  the  world. 

I believe,  that  ministers  will  physically  have  more 
strength,  almost  the  very  day  that  they  commence 
abandoning  these  substances.  And  the  time  is  coming, 
when  ministerial  strength  will  be  taxed  more  and  more. 
The  churches  are  giving  us  more  and  more  to  do,  and 
the  world  is  demanding  more  and  more  at  our  hands. 
We  want  strong,  iron  constitutions  now  in  the  pulpit. 
It  is  my  firm  belief,  that  every  time  a minister  puts  the 
intoxicating  glass  to  his  lips,  he  impairs  his  strength, 
irritates  the  delicate  nervous  system,  and  so  far  unfits 
himself  for  his  labors.  It  is  the  testimony  of  ministers 
that  have  tried  both  sides  of  the  question,  that  their 
voices  have  become  stronger,  and  that  they  feel  alto- 
gether less  exhaustion  after  preaching,  when  they  go 
simply  to  the  draught  of  cold  water,  if  they  need  any 
quenching  of  their  thirst  after  their  arduous  labors  in 
the  pulpit.  It  is  the  testimony  of  men  of  every  class 
and  every  age.  But  I bring  up  one  instance  in  particu- 
lar. In  the  state  prison  of  Auburn  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  there  are  about  eight  hundred  prisoners  annually; 
the  rigid  principle  adopted  there  is,  that  every  prisoner, 
from  the  moment  he  enters,  is  debarred  the  use  of  in- 
toxicating liquor  and  of  tobacco.  The  criminals  have 
formerly  generally  indulged  largely  in  both  these  sub- 
stances. What,  now,  is  the  worst  effect  on  these  eight 
hundred  prisoners,  who  are  thus  suddenly  broken  oft* 
from  these  indulgences  ?— (that  is  the  great  fear  of  the 
world,— breaking  off  suddenly ; but  what  is  the  worst 


238 


SERMON  IX. 


effect  on  them?)  It  is  the  testimony  of  the  keeper  (a 
most  sensible  man),  and  of  the  chaplain  (a  most  pious 
man),  that,  in  some  few  cases,  the  men  are  pale  debili- 
tated, and  suffer  loss  of  appetite  for  a week  or  two,  (that 
is  the  worst  effect,)  but  that,  after  the  second  week, 
they  all  have  a healthy  bloom  upon  their  cheeks,  they 
become  more  healthy,  and  no  man  has  been  known  to 
die  from  it.  The  testimony  of  the  keeper  and  the 
chaplain  is,  that  every  man  has  risen  in  physical  health 
and  strength  and  cheerfulness  from  it.  And  we  say 
that  there  will  be  a vast  increase  of  ministerial  strength, 
when  this  doctrine  shall  become  prevalent. 

You  will  allow  me  now  to  refer  to  one  of  the  most 
important  documents,  which  has  been  published  in  the 
United  States  of  America  on  this  subject.  Before  read- 
ing it,  however,  I beg  to  mention  one  single  fact  from 
the  report  of  the  New  British  and  Foreign  Temperance 
Society ; during  the  last  year,  out  of  19,878  signatures, 
2637  were  from  reclaimed  drunkards,  of  whom  479 
have  been  deemed  by  pastors  worthy  of  admission  to 
church  fellowship.  In  the  past  year  alone,  479  ! And 
here  is  the  infidelity  of  our  doctrine  ! here  is  our  infidel 
Temperance  Society  ! (as  we  have  heard  the  objection 
wafted  across  the  Atlantic.)  Infidelity  ! to  bring  men 
under  the  power  of  the  gospel,  and  prepared  to  hear  the 
gospel,  and  to  sit  down  to  celebrate  the  dying  love  of 
Christ ! 

Now  let  me  turn  to  my  own  land,  and  tell  of  the 
effects  of  Temperance  reformation. 

“ In  one  town  in  Massachusetts,  a Temperance  dis- 
course was  delivered  near  the  close  of  1827.  Numbers 
renounced  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  conducted  all 
their  business  without  it.  Many  were  anxious  to  form 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  239 

a Temperance  Society : but  some  among  the  aged  and 
influential  thought,  that  they  could  not  do  without  a 
little,  and  no  society  was  formed,  till  the  young  men, 
impatient  at  the  delay  of  their  fathers,  called  a meeting, 
and  formed  a society  among  themselves.  They  resolved 
to  have  stated  meetings,  collect  information,  and  spread 
it  through  the  town ; and  at  the  first  meeting  many 
were  solemn  ; and  at  the  second,  anxious  for  their  sal- 
vation ; a prayer  was  offered  and  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scended upon  them;  the  anxiety  increased — became 
general  and  extended  through  the  town — and  more 
than  two  hundred,  it  is  believed,  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life.  Ten  of  those  young  men  are  now 
preparing  for  the  gospel  ministry;  and,  should  their 
lives  be  spared,  and  their  talents  consecrated  to  the  Re- 
deemer, they  may  be  instrumental  in  preparing  many 
for  an  { exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ;’  and, 
could  we  trace  the  influence  of  that  single  Temperance 
Society,  in  all  its  various  connections,  bearings  and 
consequences,  upon  the  temporal  and  eternal  interests 
of  men,  the  vision  would  be  transporting.  And  when 
the  committee  saw  these  societies  rising,  and  extending 
their  benign  influences  not  merely  over  one  but  a thou- 
sand towns,  and  promising  to  extend  them  through  the 
whole  land  and  to  all  future  ages,  they  could  not  but 
4 thank  God  and  take  courage.’  ” 

The  opinion  of  the  Committee  of  the  New- York 
State  Society  is  supported  by  such  facts  as  the  follow- 
ing:—A distinguished  gentleman  from  that  State  writes 
— “ The  great  and  good  work  of  the  Lord  goes  on  in 
the  midst  of  us ; and  the  Temperance-movement,  like 
John  the  Baptist,  prepares  the  way  of  the  Lord.  One 
might  follow  in  the  wake  of  this  movement,  and  say, 


240 


SERMON  IX. 


£ The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.’  ” Another  gen- 
tleman, from  another  part  of  the  State,  writes — “ In 
this  country,  it  is  notorious  that  those  towns  which 
have  been  the  most  active  in  the  Temperance-cause, 
have  been  the  most  blessed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  all 
the  towns  in  this  county,  there  have  been  revivals ; 
and,  as  a general  remark,  it  may  be  said,  that,  in  every 
town,  those  neighborhoods,  which  have  done  most  in 
the  promotion  of  Temperance,  have  been  most  blessed 

in  religious  matters.  In  C , the  Spirit  has  seemed 

to  follow  the  Temperance-effort  from  neighborhood  to 
neighborhood;  and  so  in  other  places.  In  short,  so 
manifest  is  the  connection  between  Temperance  and 
revivals  of  religion  in  this  country,  that  we  no  more 
expect  the  latter  where  the  former  does  not  exist,  than 
we  expect  snow  in  summer.  This,  of  course,  is  a 
general  remark.  There  are,  undoubtedly  exceptions.” 

I read  next  the  statement  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States — that 
large  and  respectable  body  to  which  I have  the  honor 
to  belong,  composed  of  about  two  thousand  ministers. 
They  say — 

“ It  is  now  a well-established  fact,  that  the  common 
use  of  strong  drink,  however  moderate,  has  been  a 
fatal,  soul-destroying  barrier  against  the  influence  of 
the  gospel.  Consequently,  wherever  total  abstinence 
is  practised,  a powerful  instrument  of  resisting  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  removed : and  a new  avenue  of  access 
to  the  hearts  of  men  opened  to  the  power  of  truth. 
Thus,  in  numerous  instances  and  in  various  places, 
during  the  past  year,  the  Temperance-reformation  has 
been  a harbinger  preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord  ; and 
the  banishment  of  that  liquid  poison , which  kills  both 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  241 

soul  and  body,  has  made  way  for  the  immediate  en- 
trance of  the  Spirit  and  the  word,  the  glorious  train  of 
the  Redeemer.  But,  a great  work  is  still  to  be  affected 
in  the  Church.  The  sons  of  Levi  must  be  purged. 
The  accursed  thing  must  be  removed  from  the  camp 
of  the  Lord.  While  professing  Christians  continue  to 
exhibit  the  balef  ul  example  of  tasting  the  drunkard’s 
poison , or,  by  a sacrilegious  traffic , to  make  it  their  em- 
ployment to  degrade  and  destroy  their  fellow-men, 
those  who  love  the  Lord  must  not  keep  silence,  but 
must  lift  up  their  warning  voice,  and  use  all  lawful 
efforts  to  remove  this  withering  reproach  from  the  house 
of  God.” 

And  thus  commissioned  by  my  brethren  and  fathers 
in  Israel,  I do,  in  the  strength  of  God  and  in  the  love 
of  Christ  and  of  his  Church  and  of  the  souls  of  men, 
“ lift  up,”  to-night,  my  “ warning  voice.”  However 
feebly,  it  speaks  the  truth ; and  God  is  in  and  with  his 
truth. 

I will  read  but  one  more  document — “ A gentleman 
from  Tennessee  writes,  that  the  formation  of  a Temp- 
erance-Society in  his  vicinity  was  followed  by  such  a 
revival  of  religion,  as  in  those  parts  was  never  before 
known ; that  in  numerous  other  places  where  Temp- 
erance-Societies were  formed,  they  were  followed  by 
the  same  glorious  results ; and  that,  in  a compass  of 
about  three  miles,  as  the  result  apparently  of  the 
Temperance-reformation,  more  than  three  hundred 
persons  were  hopefully  added  to  the  Lord.  And  so 
generally  has  it  been  followed  by  such  results,  that  it 
is  spoken  of  in  various  countries,  and  even  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  globe,  as  < John  the  Baptist/  preparing  the 
way  of  the  Lord.  Whether  the  reason  of  this  can  be 

21 


242 


SERMON  IX. 


philosophically  and  satisfactorily  explained  or  not,  the 
fact  is  settled,  that  intoxicating  liquor  tends  from  be- 
ginning to  end  to  increase  human  wickedness,  and  also 
to  render  that  wickedness  permanent.  The  men,  there- 
fore, who  make  it,  and  the  men,  who  furnish  it  to  be 
used  as  a drink,  are,  by  their  whole  influence  in  doing 
this,  increasing  the  vices  and  augmenting  the  woes  of 
mankind.  And  though  some  of  them  profess  to  be 
friends  to  Temperance,  and  to  wish  to  have  it  prevail 
and  become  universal,  they  are  taking  the  very  course 
for  ever  to  prevent  it.” 

This  is  the  testimony  from  the  other  side  of  the 
water. 

I now  go  on  with  my  argument ; and  I proceed  to 
state  that  the  effects  of  total  abstinence  now  are  re- 
sembling the  promised  effects  of  the  Millennium.  What 
.is  the  Millennium?  It  is  to  produce  order.  Go  into 
that  family,  that,  a year  ago,  was  under  the  influence 
of  a drunken  father — go  into  that  family,  now  a totally- 
abstaining  family,  and  see  how  order  and  peace  have 
begun  to  prevail.  Peace — “ peace  on  earth  !”  Look 
at  peace  restored  in  that  family ; look  at  peace  restored 
in  that  neighborhood ; see  the  dove,  that  has  come  to 
that  family  and  to  that  neighborhood  with  the  olive- 
branch  of  peace  in  its  mouth.  It  will  not  be  by  mira- 
cle, that  the  reign  of  order  and  of  peace  will  come  in  ; 
it  will  be  by  the  simple  operation  of  ordinary  causes  ; 
and  here  is  one  of  those  grand  causes — the  prevalence 
of  the  Temperance-reformation. 

Love  will  more  abound ; for  these  intoxicating  sub- 
stances render  the  heart  more  and  more  callous  and 
more  and  more  selfish.  God  has  declared,  that  u there 
shall  be  none  to  hurt  or  destroy  in  all  his  holy  mount;” 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  243 


and  I ask,  if  on  “ his  holy  mount”  there  will  be  a 
orewery  or  a distillery?  No — no — no!  You  never 
saw  a brewery  that  did  not  curse  the  neighborhood  in 
which  it  was  built ; you  never  saw  a distillery  that  did 
not  blight  the  land  over  which  it  rolled  its  fumes ; and 
if  that  prediction  is  to  come  true,  and  if  nothing  shall 
hurt  and  nothing  destroy  in  the  holy  mount  of  God, 
then  there  will  be  no  fabrication  of  these  intoxicating 
poisons. 

The  very  movement  of  the  Temperance-reformation 
collaterally  aids  the  revival  of  religion.  Look  at  its 
effect  in  bringing  to  view  personal  responsibility  for 
personal  actions  and  personal  influence.  It  is  doing 
just  the  very  thing  that  John  the  Baptist  did — mak- 
ing every  individual  feel  his  individual  responsibility. 
Every  Temperance-address  to  the  maker  or  the  vender, 
every  Temperance-address  to  the  drinker,  of  intoxicat- 
ing liquors,  calls  him  to  look  at  the  question  again,  Am 
I doing  any  hurt  in  the  world  ? It  makes  men  see,  that 
that  question,  “ Am  I my  brothers  keeper?”  is  a wicked 
question:  you  are  “your  brother’s  keeper;”  and  the 
more  powerfully  the  Temperance-question  moves  on  in 
the  world,  the  more  does  it  bring  men  to  act  under  the 
solemn  personal  influence  of  the  feeling  of  personal 
responsibility. 

It  brings  lessons  of  self-denial.  It  is  hard  for  a man, 
that  has  been  living  in  luxury  on  the  profits  of  these 
substances,  to  go  and  close  his  distillery,  and  close  his 
brewery,  and  close  his  ale-house ; it  is  hard,  but  it  is 
right — it  is  right — it  is  RIGHT.  It  is  lovely.  We 
have  begun  to  see  it  done ; we  have  quenched  the  fires 
of  nearly  two  thousand  distilleries  in  our  own  States — * 
not  by  force,  not  by  legislative  enactment, — but  by  the 


244  SERMON  IX. 

power  of  conscience.  And  I want  to  know,  whether 
these  distillers,  that  went  and  put  out  their  fires  and 
sold  their  vessels  for  old  copper,  were  or  were  not  better 
members  of  society  for  it,  and  better  prepared  for  help- 
ing onward  the  work  of  God  ? Let  this  glorious  cause 
move  on ; let  all  the  publicans  of  London  begin  to 
tremble,  as  they  see  the  blood  of  souls  staining  their 
hands ; let  all  those,  that  live  by  the  profits  of  this 
practice,  begin  to  weigh  the  question  solemnly,  and 
then  determine  to  deny  themselves  for  the  good  of  their 
fellow-men ; that  is  one  of  the  very  preparations  for  the 
glorious  introduction  of  this  gospel  of  self-denial. 

It  creates  sympathy  for  the  most  degraded.  Tem- 
perate men  have  learned  to  love  the  drunkard.  There 
is  many  a man  that  gives  up  drinking  simply  from  this 
consideration.  And  I wish  you  to  understand,  that 
I am  not,  perhaps,  expressing  to-night  the  sentiments 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  Temperance-Societies  in 
Great  Britain ; I give  up  all  these  substances,  because 
I think  them  all  poisonous ; my  brethren  do  not,  and 
it  is  benevolent  in  them  to  give  up  drinking  them,  as 
they  do  ; it  would  be  murder  in  me  to  give  a man  what 
I believe  to  be  poison — it  is  benevolence  in  them  not 
to  give  it.  When  a man  banishes  these  liquors  from 
his  table,  his  guest  may  be  forming  that  very  day  the 
critical  habit ; or  that  very  day  he  may  be  a recovered 
drunkard.  I know  that  he  subjects  himself  to  all  the 
pain  of  appearing  niggardly  and  inhospitable  and  un- 
kind : but  it  is  noble  to  dare  to  do  right,  it  is  noble  to 
bear  sneers,  it  is  godlike  to  love  the  poor  drunkard, 
so  that  you  say,  ‘ This  right  hand  shall  go  off  rather 
than  contribute  one  movement  towards  pushing  the 
drunkard  to  destruction  : I come  out  and  rid  my  hands 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  245 

from  the  whole.  I come  out  and  separate  myself  from 
the  whole  machinery  of  drunkenness,  I do  it  for  my 
brother’s  sake  !’  When  I was  a little  boy,  the  drunkard 
was  my  sport ; I joined  with  my  companions  in  de- 
riding him  along  the  streets ; now  I have  learned  to 
feel  that  the  drunkard  is  my  brother  ; and  those  filthy 
rags  that  cover  him,  and  that  filthy  mouth  that  utters 
obscenity  intolerable,  do  not  repel  the  man  that  has 
determined  to  hazard  all  to  save  a brother.  This  is 
still  my  brother ; and  he  may  yet  be  washed  and  re- 
newed and  saved,  and  shine  in  the  presence  of  God — 
an  angel  for  ever. 

You  will  bear  with  me  perhaps  still  further,  while 
I state  this  great  point  in  confirmation  of  my  argu- 
ment; we  must  send  Christianity  to  the  Pagan,  but 
it  must  be  a purified  Christianity — it  must  not  be  a 
wine-drinking  Christianity.  When  the  colonists  went 
to  the  United  States  of  America,  (which  were  the  colo- 
nies originally,)  they  found  there  the  Indian ; what 
have  they  done  to  the  Indian  ? they  have  almost  exter- 
minated the  tribes ; how  ? the  sword  has  done  something, 
but  strong  drink  has  done  the  work : and,  if  you  want 
now  to  see  a degraded  being  on  earth,  go  to  the  once 
lord  of  the  forest.  You  have  heard  of  that  elevated 
bearing,  that  showed  him  free  as  the  air  he  breathed, 
and  as  the  leopard  of  the  woods,  or  the  mountain-goat ; 
now  what  is  he  ? he  is  the  most  perfect  beast  in  the 
shape  of  a man,  that  can  be  found  upon  earth ; that  is 
now  the  Indian  lurking  near  American  habitations,  the 
habitations  of  Christian  and  civilized  men.  Why  ? He 
is  drunk  from  morning  to  night,  if  he  can  get  intoxi- 
cating liquor.  Was  the  Indian  a drunkard,  when  we 
went  there  ? No,  no ; when  the  Englishman  land 


246 


SERMON  IX. 


there,  the  Indian  knew  none  of  the  curse  of  intoxication. 
But  he  has  learned  it;  and  I am  afraid  that  God  has 
yet  a controversy  with  my  beloved  nation  for  that  sin, 
as  well  as  for  some  others.  Oh  ! is  this  the  way  to  lift 
up  a nation — to  carry  them  these  polluting  substances  ? 
I would  that  every  Missionary  were  a drinker  of  nothing 
but  cold  water.  Why,  one  of  the  grand  difficulties 
that  our  Missionaries  now  meet  with,  is  the  presence 
of  our  commercial  men  and  our  sailors  at  the  stations ; 
they  say.  ‘ There  is  a specimen  of  what  you  want  to 
make  us  ; you  want  to  make  us  like  those  drunkards  ;5 
and  they  have  laughed  at  the  Missionary ; and  well 
may  they.  £ That  is  Christianity !’  Well,  the  Mission- 
ary says,  ‘ But  these  are  drunkards  P c What  makes 
them  drunkards  V ‘ Strong  drink.’  ‘ Well,  is  that  the 
line  of  demarcation  in  your  country?  have  all  Chris- 
tians given  it  up  ? ‘ Oh  ! no ; strong  drink  is  made  by 

Christians,  and  drunk  by  Christians;  it  is  in  the 
Church  that  this  strong  drink  lies.5  That  is  what  the 
Missionary  has  to  tell  the  Pagan  in  fidelity  and  in  truth ; 
and,  as  long  as  he  does  it,  here  lies  a powerful  restrainer 
of  the  influence  of  our  Missionary  exertions.  Which 
of  two  Missionaries  would  you  rather  have  go  to  the 
heathen — a man  that  tells  them  to  drink  cold  water, 
or  one  that  tells  them  to  drink  moderately  intoxicating 
liquors? 

You  will  bear  with  me  in  the  last  argument  on  this 
proposition — the  little  that  can  be  pleaded  on  the  other 
side.  What  is  it  ? 

One  man  says,  I have  to  take  it  as  a medicine.  Now 
mark  ; every  such  person  is  on  our  side,  and  he  ought 
to  be  a tee-totaller.  Every  physican  that  prescribes  it 
as  a medicine  is  with  us,  and  every  patient  that  takes 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  247 

it  as  a medicine  is  with  us — because  it  cannot  be  a 
medicine  .and  a beverage  too;  it  is  one  or  the  other. 
We  contend  that  it  is  a medicine,  we  contend  that  it  is 
a poison,  fit  to  be  given  to  sick  persons  under  careful 
and  proper  prescriptions ; we  deny  that  it  is  proper  to 
take  as  a beverage.  All  these,  I say,  are  with  us  ; be- 
cause the  idea  of  telling  people  to  drink  a little  diluted 
arsenic  every  day  because  a physician  prescribes  it  to 
the  sick  is  presposterous.  So  I once  said,  after  arguing 
on  the  deck  of  a steam-boat  with  a gentleman  upon  this 
subject,  for  about  half  an  hour,  in  the  presence  of  a 
crowd  of  passengers  that  gathered  around  us.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  affected,  because  I had  pressed  his  con- 
science with  the  truth  ; “ My  dear  sir,”  said  he,  “ it  is 
cruel  in  you.”  “ What  is  cruel  in  me  ?”  “ Why  thus 

to  press  me,  when  my  physician  has  told  me  that  I 
must  drink  it  or  die.”  “ My  dear  sir ! why  did  not  you 
tell  me  at  the  beginning  of  the  argument,  you  were  an 
invalid  ? and  why  have  you  been,  for  this  half  an  hour, 
endeavoring  to  persuade  all  these  people  around  you 
to  take  your  medicine  ?”  I do  not  wish  to  destroy  that 
plea,  and  this  is  not  the  place  nor  the  time  to  treat  of 
it ; but  I do  wish  this  distinction  to  be  made,  that  every 
person,  who  advocates  its  use  as  a medicine,  gives  up 
its  use  as  a beverage ; or  else  it  would  present  this 
strange  anomaly,  that  the  only  medicine  in  the  whole 
materia  medica  to  be  so  used  is  alcohol.  It  is  not  so 
with  nux  vomica , it  is  not  so  with  coculus  indicus , it 
is  not  so  with  laudanum,  it  is  not  so  with  opium ; it  is 
only  so  with  alcohol.  We  venture  to  say,  that,  when 
that  point  comes  to  be  reflected  upon  closely,  it  will  be 
abandoned. 

Appetite  can  be  pleaded.  Interest  can  be  pleaded. 


248 


SERMON  IX. 


The  rules  of  hospitality  can  be  pleaded.  And  so  can 
the  Scriptures,  inasmuch  as  on  this  important  subject 
the  Bible  seems  to  recommend  the  use  of  wine.  Now 
I will,  as  briefly  as  I can,  present  my  views  on  that 
difficult  and  delicate  point. 

I will  say  (to  begin)  that,  if  I can  find  that  my  bless- 
ed Redeemer  made  and  gave  intoxicating  drink,  I drop 
my  strong  argument : I simply  then  say,  that  I find 
that  I am  better  without  it,  and  I cannot  tell  but  what 
other  people  are  better  with  it ; I give  up  the  Tem- 
perance cause,  because  I advocate  it  on  the  belief  that 
intoxicating  drink  (or  alcohol  rather,)  is  a poison,  and 
I do  not  believe  Jesus  Christ  ever  made  poison  to  give 
to  a man  in  health.  I state  this,  in  order  to  show  my 
profound  reverence  for  the  authority  of  my  Savior,  and 
to  dissociate  myself  entirely  from  the  infidel  spirit  and 
the  infidel  man  that  would  say, — c I will  maintain  my 
Temperance,  let  the  Bible  go  where  it  will.’  I have  no 
part  nor  lot  with  him. 

Now  I say  that  it  is  a question  of  interpretation,  a 
question  as  to  the  meaning  of  language.  When  Jesus 
Christ  is  said  to  have  made  “ wine”  for  the  feast  at  Cana, 
the  question  is,  what  does  that  word  wine  mean  ? I 
want  to  get  light  on  that  fact.  I find  that  there  are  two 
kinds  of  wine  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  because  I find 
that  the  Bible  in  other  places  reprobates  the  use  of  wine 
in  the  most  unqualified  language.  Do  you  believe,  that 
Jesus  Christ  sat  at  table  and  made  for  a company  of 
people  that,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  denominated 
“ a mocker  ?”  Do  you  believe,  that  the  divine  Savior 
said,  “Look  not  upon  the  wine,”  and  yet  “I  will  make 
it  for  you” — make  that  which  “ at  the  last  will  bite  like 
a serpent  and  sting  like  an  adder  ?”  I say  it  is  evident, 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  249 

that  in  the  Bible  two  kinds  of  wine  are  mentioned. 
Well,  then,  in  this  case  which  kind  was  it  ? Here  I get 
light.  I go  and  examine  the  nature  of  acoholic  wine ; 
I find  it  always  the  same ; I find  it  to  be  just  that  kind 
of  substance  described  in  the  Bible,  “ sparkling  in  the 
cup,”  and  I find  it  “biting  like  a serpent,  and  stinging 
like  an  adder,”  and  leading  on  to  whoredom,  and  with 
whoredom  “ taking  away  the  heart”  of  man  ; I find  it 
treating  men  just  as  it  did  Noah,  just  as  it  did  Lot,  just 
as  it  did  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram;  I find  all  its 
effects,  just  as  described  by  the  prophets  in  their  solemn 
reproofs  of  Israel.  Then,  I say,  I am  inclined  to  believe 
a priori  that  Jesus  Christ  never  made  it;  and  when  I 
find,  that  there  were  two  kinds  of  wine  in  use  among 
the  Jews,  I rest  in  the  conviction  that  he  made  that 
which  was  not  intoxicating,  and  that  in  the  Lord’s  sup- 
per he  gave  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  and  not  the  putrifying 
substance  that  is  now  called  wine — that  he  gave  the 
pure  juice  of  the  grape.  1 ask  a person  how  he  recon- 
ciles the  Bible,  if  he  supposes  there  was  but  one  kind  of 
wine ; our  view  of  it  takes  the  passages  that  reprobate 
wine  to  speak  of  wine  that  intoxicates ; and  the  passages 
that  sanction  wine  to  speak  of  the  wine  that  does  not  in- 
toxicate. And  I will  mention  here,  (as  I have  known 
it  to  throw  light  on  some  minds,)  that  you  will  remem- 
ber, in  the  case  of  the  chief  butler  in  the  prison  relating 
his  dream  to  Joseph,  he  says  that  he  squeezed  out  the 
juice  of  the  grape  into  Pharaoh’s  cup.  There  you  see 
was  the  juice  of  the  grape  immediately  drunk ; and  I 
find  it  a very  pleasant  drink.  We  thus  find  the  Scrip- 
tures harmonize  with  nature,  with  chemistry,  with  phy- 
siology, with  fact ; you  do  not : you  cannot  reconcile 
the  thing,  and  we  cannot  reconcile  the  thing. 


250 


SERMON  IX. 


And  then,  further,  I say  that  none  of  you,  I believe, 
would  like  to  have  your  children  grow  up  in  the  same 
habit ; or  I believe  that  you  would  feel  safer  in  having 
your  children  give  it  up,  and  you  would  wish,  that, 
though  you  may  use  them,  the  next  generation  might 
leave  them  off,  and  you  feel  that  the  world  would  be 
better. 

I make,  in  closing,  one  or  two  inferences  from  my 
subject. 

And  I say  that  the  venders  and  manufacturers  of  in- 
toxicating liquors  ought  to  take  the  subject  into  most 
solemn  consideration.  They  ought  to  be  able  to  call,  if 
they  have  truth  on  their  side, — and  I wish  they  would 
do  this,  I wish  that  they  would  call — Anti-Temperance 
meetings.  I wish  that  they  would  have  their  strong 
men,  and  their  strong  ministers  and  their  strong  speakers 
come  out  and  enlighten  us.  We  had  a glorious  meet- 
ing last  night ; we  had  a meeting  full  of  soul,  full  of 
heart,  full  of  earnestness,  and  full  of  eloquence ; it  was 
a blessed  meeting,  and  for  one  I felt—1 ‘ God  approves  it 
for  one  I felt  as  if  we  that  promoted  it  were  receiving 
the  thanks  of  humanity.  I ask  them  to  get  up  such  a 
meeting,  and  bring  forward  their  strong  arguments  and 
show  that  they  are  right.  All  I hear  is  in  secret ; I see 
a sneer  or  a laugh ; I am  met  at  this  table  and  at  that 
table  with  a jeer  and  a joke,  and  a passing  jest  thrown 
out  here  and  there.  I wish  if  there  is  not  truth  on  our 
side,  that  we  might  be  stopped.  If  we  have  exaggerated 
views,  they  must  all  come  down — for  nothing  but  truth 
will  live  and  triumph.  But  after  all  that,  I say  that,  as 
I think,  every  man  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  in- 
toxicating liquor  as  a beverage,  every  man  engaged  in 
preparing  it  or  offering  it  for  sale,  to  tempt  the  public 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  251 

appetite  and  to  tempt  the  poor  drunkard,  ought  to  stop, 
and  ask  whether  this  is  not  one  of  the  “ mountains’7  that 
must  come  down,  whether  this  is  not  one  of  the  “ crooked 
places”  that  must  be  made  straight,  one  of  the  “ rough 
places”  that  must  be  made  plain,  that  the  Son  of  God 
may  come  in  his  gospel  and  in  his  Spirit.  I ask  the 
calm  and  candid  consideration  of  those,  that  are  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  or  the  traffic.  They  will  bear  with 
me,  as  a man ; I speak  in  much  love  to  them,  and  to 
society,  which  I believe  they  are  injuring.  No  matter 
how  kind  your  intention,  no  matter  how  kind  your  feel- 
ing, I believe  you  are  stabbing  society  in  its  dearest  in- 
terests. If  I am  wrong,  do  not  believe  me  ; but  if  I am 
right,  do  not  be  offended,  because  I speak  it  in  love ; I 
speak  it  as  one  that  must  stand  at  the  bar  of  God,  and 
hear  again  what  I say  from  this  place  of  authority  and 
of  instruction ; I say,  you  are  helping  to  make  the 
drunkards  of  London  and  the  drunkards  of  England— 
you , and  none  but  you  are  making  drunkards.  You 
say, — -they  make  themselves:’  I know  they  do;  but 
you  had  better  go  deeply  into  that  solemn  question  of 
moral  phylosophy,  whether  the  man,  that  knowingly 
contributes  to  the  ruin  of  another,  even  by  that  other’s 
fault,  will  not  be  held  guilty  at  the  bar  of  God.  Of  the 
man,  that  had  an  ox  which  was  known  to  gore,  and  let 
the  ox  go  loose  for  his  pleasure  or  profit,  God  said, — 
‘ let  him  answer  even  to  his  life  for  the  life  of  any  that 
may  be  killed.’  The  man,  that  had  a flat  roof,  an  ori- 
ental roof,  without  any  battlement,  God  held  accounta- 
ble for  any  who  fell  hence,  because  he  had  neglected  to 
put  up  a parapet,  and  the  blood  was  required  at  his 
door.  Take  care  you  are  not  found  accessary  to 
drunkard-making  in  a guilty  sense. 


252 


SERMON  IX. 


I ask  you  to  look  at  this  fact ; your  success  is  the 
ruin  of  the  public  and  of  families.  Every  bottle  and 
every  glass  you  send  out  goes  on  a mission  of  misery 
and  of  death.  The  drunkard  is  on  the  outer  circle  of 
the  vast  whirlpool,  and  you  are  tempting  him  carelessly 
to  float  along,  and  each  succeeding  circle  turns  shorter 
and  shorter,  and  you  just  turn  away  when  the  poor 
creature  with  one  ineffectual  struggle  sinks  to  rise  no 
more.  Oh  ! it  is  a dreadful  trade,  to  be  making  drunk- 
ards. It  is  a dreadful  thing,  to  sell  out  the  large  mass 
in  pipes  and  hogsheads  and  barrels,  that,  you  know , 
goes  forth  like  scorching  streams  of  lava  through  the 
community.  You  know  that  it  will  curse  that  poor 
family ; you  know  that  it  will  make  that  man  prodigal 
of  his  property,  and  careless  of  the  wants  of  his  children 
and  his  wife ; you  know  that  it  will  produce  poverty 
and  disease  and  misery,  and  death  &nd  hell  to  men. 
Perhaps  this  bottle  will  not,  but  that  bottle  may ; per- 
haps this  pipe  will  not,  but  that  pipe  may.  It  is  certain 
that  somebody  is  doing  the  work  of  death.  Six  hun- 
dred thousand  drunkards  in  England ! who  makes 
them?  who  sustains  them?  Nobody?  Does  nobody 
make  money  out  of  these  six  hundred  thousand  drunk- 
ards ? These  six  hundred  thousand  rob  their  families, 
rob  themselves,  rob  the  public  (for  they  become  paupers); 
who  gets  the  money?  See  if  it  is  not  in  your  hands. 

My  brother ! I do  not  charge  you ; I only  ask  you  to 
look  at  the  matter.  I ask  you  to  go  home  and  pray 
over  your  trade.  But  how  will  you  frame  your  prayer  ? 
Will  you  ask  God  to  send  you  more  customers  and 
more  drunkards  to  your  brew-house  or  to  your  shop  ? 
why,  then  you  ask  to  have  more  of  his  creatures  mined 
in  body  and  in  soul ! Oh ! a distillery,  or  a spirit- 


TEMPERANCE  AND  RELIGION.  253 

cellar,  is  a dreadful  place  in  which  to  hold  a prayer- 
meeting. I should  think  a man  could  hardly  ask  God 
to  bless  such  a trade.  I should  like  to  see  how  he 
would  pray  over  it.  Would  he  say — ‘ O Lord  ! do  not 
let  this  bottle  do  any  harm ; counteract  the  poisonous 
and  soul-hardening  effects  of  this  alcohol ; I do  not 
want  to  hurt  any  one,  I only  want  to  get  the  profit  of 
tempting  them  to  their  ruin ; I do  not  want  to  do  the 
harm  that  this  must  do  in  the  natural  course  of 
things  V Dare  he  speak  so  to  his  Maker  ? 

Let  me  state  one  other  fact ; there  are  widows  pray- 
ing against  you  ; there  are  widows  in  this  city  lodging 
a suit  in  Heaven’s  chancery  against  you.  They  are 
weak;  you  may  not  be  afraid  of  them.  But  God  hears 
them ; and  when  the  wife  says,  “ May  God  restrain  the 
arm,  that  is  taking  away  my  husband !” — and  when 
the  widow  sometimes  says,  in  the  agony  of  her  soul, 
“ God  blight  the  arm,  that  administers  that  poison  !” — 
oh  ! it  may  be  heard , it  may  be  heard.  I would  not 
stand  with  you  ; I would  not  live,  ministering  out  the 
poison  to  my  fellow-men. 

I say  (to  close  the  whole)  to  the  vender,  to  the  traffick- 
er, to  the  manufacturer: — You  may  ruin  one  soul  by 
it : one  man  may  die  a drunkard,  by  that  which  you 
make  and  that  which  you  sell — one  man,  one  immortal 
soul,  just  one!  And  as  God  has  said  no  drunkard 
shall  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  what  will  be  your 
gain  if  you  make  one  ? — if  that  one  at  the  judgment 
day  shall  lift  up  his  voice,  and  say,  “ You,  you  were 
the  author  of  my  guilt,  my  wretchedness,  my  damna- 
tion ?” 

My  hearers  ! I close ; but  my  heart — my  heart  feels 
for  man.  My  heart  prays,  that  God  would  incline  his 
22 


254 


SERMON  IX. 


church  to  come  out,  (to  a man  to  come  out,)  and  rid 
themselves  of  the  whole  machinery  of  drunkenness, 
and  all  its  connections,  and  all  its  ramifications,  and  all 
its  work  of  death. 

“Prepare  ye,  prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 
Lord.” 


SERMON  X. 


ON  THE  TRAFFIC  IN  INTOXICATING 
Liauo  RS. 


“ Thou  shall  not  kill.” — Exodus  xx.  13. 

This  is  a part  of  the  law  of  God  which  is  given  to 
every  human  being.  And  whether  heeded,  or  disre- 
garded, it  forms  a part  of  the  great  standard  by  which, 
in  the  day  of  final  judgment,  every  man’s  actions  will 
be  tried.  Its  design  is  obvious.  Like  every  other 
divine  command  or  prohibition,  it  states  the  rights 
either  of  God,  or  of  his  creatures : and  demands  a re- 
gard to  these  rights  on  the  penalty  of  eternal  death. 
One  command  guards  one  precious  interest ; another 
presents  and  defends  another.  The  prohibition  before 
us  brings  to  view  one  of  man’s  dearest  earthly  interests 
— his  life.  It  is  a gift  of  God,  a precious  boon.  Most 
tenderly  has  he  guarded  it;  most  sternly  does  he 
threaten,  and  most  dreadfully  will  he  execute  the 
threat,  on  every  ruthless  invader  who  lifts  his  hand, — 
yea,  who  harbors  in  his  heart  a desire,  against  it.  Here 
the  laws  of  man  in  every  civilized  society  have  imitated 
the  law  of  God.  And  as  nations  advance  in  civiliza- 
tion, while  they  are  continually  mitigating  the  punish- 


256 


SERMON  X . 


ment  of  other  crimes,  they  still  hold  out  the  severest 
of  all  their  penalties  against  this : — “ Thou  shalt  not 
kill ” 

If  this  is  a command  of  God,  binding  us  all  to  avoid 
a certain  course  of  action,  all  are  bound  to  understand 
its  meaning  and  extent;  and  it  must  be  the  solemn 
duty  of  every  interpreter  of  the  divine  law  to  explain 
it  faithfully.  I shall  resort  to  two  sources  of  explana- 
tion. One  is  the  statute  book  of  God’s  moral  kingdom, 
the  other  is  the  criminal  law  of  civilized  nations,  the 
result  of  the  combined  wisdom  and  maturest  reflections 
of  successive  ages. 

We  will  first  consult  the  laws  of  men,  and  carry  out 
their  principles  to  their  legitimate  results,  considering 
them  as  sound  expositors  of  the  divine  law.  For,  it  is 
a very  interesting  observation,  that  the  wisdom  and 
mercy  of  God’s  laws  have  been  discovered  by  the  very 
necessities  of  society,  just  as  far  as  it  advances  in  the 
attainment  of  happiness. 

The  first  thing  we  find,  is  the  division  of  murder 
into  two  degrees.  The  difference  between  them  ap- 
pears to  be  this.  It  is  murder  in  the  first  degree  to  kill 
another  intentionally — in  the  second  degree,  to  kill  un- 
intentionally. And  the  second  degree  is  deemed  to  in- 
fer guilt,  just  in  proportion  as  there  is  manifested  a 
selfish  indifference  to  human  life. 

We  notice  again,  that  the  length  of  time  between 
doing  the  act  which  causes  death  and  the  death  itself, 
does  not  alter  the  criminality,  provided  the  testimony 
of  medical  men  will  only  show  that  the  act  was  the 
cause  of  the  death. 

We  notice  again,  that  a distinction  is  made  between 
two  classes  of  murderers,  without  any  difference  in 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS.  257 

their  guilt  or  punishment.  They  are  principals  and 
accessories.  A principal  does  the  fatal  deed.  An  ac- 
cessory makes,  or  gives,  or  sells  the  fatal  instrument, 
or  in  some  way,  knowingly  sustains  the  principal. 
With  regard  to  the  second  degree  of  murder,  they  de- 
fine it  an  act  which  produces  death  under  circum- 
stances manifesting  not  intention  to  kill,  but  a wicked 
recklessness  of  human  life. — For  example : the  suffer- 
ing a beast  to  run  at  large,  when  it  is  known  to  be 
mad,  or  in  any  way  dangerous.  You  will  notice  that 
it  is,  the  suffering  the  beast  to  run  at  large.  But  if  a 
man  should  turn  out  such  a beast,  suppose  a lion  or  a 
tiger,  whether  for  sport  or  profit,  and  it  takes  away  life ; 
this  is  pronounced  murder  in  the  second  degree. 

We  may  cite  one  or  two  cases  from  law-reports,  to 
illustrate  what  is  meant  by  homicide.  A son,  who 
cruelly  and  unnaturally  exposed  his  sick  father  to  the 
open  air  in  inclement  weather,  whereby  his  death  was 
occasioned,  was  held  to  be  guilty  of  murder.  And  so 
was  a woman,  who  caused  the  death  of  her  child,  by 
leaving  it  in  an  orchard,  scantily  covered  with  leaves, 
whereby  it  perished.  This  is,  then,  the  decision  of 
human  justice  ; that,  to  constitute  murder,  it  is  not  re- 
quisite either  to  use  a deadly  weapon,  or  to  show  any 
other  feelings  than  those  of  selfish  indifference  to 
human  life. 

And  we  may  notice  once  more,  what  our  laws  say 
about  the  instrument  by  which  death  is  caused.  They 
say  it  is  murder,  whether  it  be  by  sword,  fire,  fire-arms, 
drowning,  beating,  or  poison.  You  will  notice,  they 
say — poison.  And  then  our  courts  depend  on  physi- 
cians to  tell  them  what  are  poisons.  And  here  I must 
stop  a moment  to  inquire,  whether  or  not  it  can  be  more 

22* 


258 


SERMON  X. 


wicked  to  kill  by  one  poison  than  by  another  ? Does  it 
make  any  difference  to  the  interests  of  society,  whether 
you  murder  by  arsenic,  or  by  alcohol,  if  both  be  poisons? 
Does  it  make  any  difference  to  the  law  of  God,  to  an 
enlightened  conscience,  to  the  agonized  wife  or  parent, 
to  the  poor  suicide  who  has  rushed  to  the  bar  of  his 
God,  unbidden  and  unforgiven?  Yes,  my  hearers  ! it 
does  make  a difference.  And  you  shall  yet  see  on 
which  side  the  difference  lies.  But  I have  only  anti- 
cipated so  much,  in  order  to  show  that  human  laws  are 
not  consistent  with  themselves — that  murder  by  one 
poison  is  punished  with  the  most  ignominious  death, 
while  murder  by  another  is  sustained  by  the  very  same 
code.  And  another  of  its  imperfections,  which  indeed 
is  intrinsic,  is  this — that  it  has  tried  in  vain,  to  punish 
self-murder.  The  ignominious  exposure  of  the  corpse, 
was  a punishment  which  alighted  alone  on  the  broken- 
hearted, innocent  survivors.  God,  however,  can  punish 
suicide.  And  there  is,  my  hearers ! another  law  by 
which,  and  another  tribunal  at  which,  all  men  must  be 
judged.  I have  referred  to  human  laws,  merely  be- 
cause, as  far  as  they  go,  they  illustrate  the  divine.  But, 
as  has  been  remarked,  they  do  not  carry  their  own  prin- 
ciple far  enough,  and  hence  are  inconsistent  with  them- 
selves. Not  that  I can  discover  in  the  Bible  any  other 
principles  on  this  subject,  than  those  now  described. 
But  it  is  evident,  that,  as  the  Psalmist  says — “ Thy 
commandments  are  exceeding  broad.”  There  is  an 
extent  of  application,  which  is  not  known  in  human 
jurisprudence.  It  is  said,  for  instance — “ If  a man  hate 
his  brother,  he  is  a murderer.”  Here  is  murder  de- 
tected, condemned  and  punished,  when  found  only  in 
the  heart,  without  an  overt  act.  I admit  that  human 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


259 


tribunals  can  never  judge  thus.  But  our  Judge  will. 
When  our  Savior  explained  the  Mosaic  law  he  re- 
marked— “ It  has  been  said,  thou  shalt  not  kill,  but  I 
say  unto  you,  whosoever  shall  say  to  his  brother,  thou 
fool ! is  in  danger  of  hell-fire.”  Here,  in  explaining 
the  sixth  commandment,  he  ranks  the  mere  expression 
of  contempt  as,  in  God’s  sight,  tantamount,  in  guilt,  to 
murder.  Even  under  the  Mosaic  law,  it  did  not  require 
any  direct  act  which  caused  death,  to  constitute  murder. 
It  was  then  just  as  it  is  now ; if  a man  had  an  ox  that 
was  known  to  push  with  his  horn,  and  he  killed  a man ; 
both  the  ox  and  his  owner  were  held  responsible,  and 
both  were  sacrificed.  Or,  if  he  built  a house, — as  their 
roofs  were  flat  and  places  of  much  resort  in  that  warm 
climate, — if  he  neglected  to  put  up  a parapet  on  the 
outer  and  inner  wall, — and  by  that  neglect  a man  should 
fall  over  and  be  killed,  the  blood  was  upon  that  house. 

We  see,  then,  the  following  principles  embraced  in 
this  law : — 

1.  Certain  things  are  means  of  life  and  happiness, 
when  used  in  a certain  way.  For  instance,  you  may 
employ  fire-arms  to  destroy  beasts  of  prey,  poisons  as 
medicines,  alcohol  in  manufactures,  &c. 

2.  These  articles  may  be  made  instruments  of  misery 
and  death,  by  being  used  in  certain  other  ways.  Fire- 
arms may  be  used  to  take  away  the  life  of  an  unoffend- 
ing fellow  creature.  Arsenic,  or  alcohol,  may  be  taken 
into  the  human  system  in  such  quantities  as  to  destroy 
life.  The  latter  has  indeed  been  called  “ a good  crea- 
ture of  God.”  So  is  fire ; but  is  that  any  reason  why 
you  should  kindle  it  in  the  middle  of  your  floor,  or 
upon  your  bed  ? God  made  every  thing  to  be  put  in 
its  right  place,  but  as  we  shall  presently  see,  he  never 


260 


SERMON  X. 


made  alcohol  for  the  human  stomach,  nor  the  human 
stomach  for  alcohol. 

3.  To  use  them  thus  on  our  own  persons,  or  rather 
to  abuse  them,  is  suicide. 

4.  To  give  them  gratuitously,  or  to  sell  them  to 
another  to  be  thus  abused,  is  murder. 

To  illustrate ; — if  you  sell  a deadly  weapon  to  a man 
when  you  know  his  intention  thus  to  abuse  it,  if  men 
can  prove  that  you  know  it,  they  will  convict  you  of 
murder,  as  an  accessory.  And,  as  God  can  prove  it,  he 
will  certainly  hold  you  guilty. 

5.  Human  and  divine  laws  admit  but  one  excuse  or 
plea.  That  is — involuntary,  or  unavoidable  ignorance ; 
when  you  could  not  know  the  use  to  be  made,  or  had 
no  reason  to  suspect  such  use ; or  if  you  could  not 
know  the  tendency  of  the  article  to  produce  death 
when  so  used.  For  if  you  had,  and  yet  should  sell  or 
give,  it  would  betray  that  very  recklessness  of  life,  after 
which  the  law  searches. 

I would  now  pass  from  this  discussion  of  abstract 
principles,  to  consider  the  following  proposition. 

To  use  alcohol  as  an  ordinary  drink,  is  suicide.  To 
make,  c give,  or  sell  it  to  be  so  used,  is  murder  by  the 
statutes  of  Heaven ; and  ought,  in  consistency,  to  be, 
by  the  laws  of  human  governments.  It  was  some  time, 
after  the  reformation  commenced,  before  its  friends 
would  call  the  “ moderate”  use  of  alcohol,  immoral. 
They  were  yet  more  cautious  in  pronouncing  the  traffic 
an  immorality.  But  there  is  now  no  hesitation  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  thoroughly  examined  the  sub- 
ject. 

We  will  first  introduce  some  comparisons  that  have 
been  made. 


INTOXICATING  LldUORS. 


261 


The  time  will  come,  when  reflecting  men  will  no 
more  think  of  making  and  vending  ardent  spirits,  or  of 
erecting  and  renting  grog-shops  as  a means  of  gain, 
than  they  would  now  think  of  poisoning  a well,  from 
which  a neighbor  obtains  water  for  his  family,  or  ot 
arming  a maniac  to  destroy  his  own  life,  or  the  lives 
of  others.” — Chancellor  Walworth . 

“ Can  it  be  right  for  me  to  derive  my  living  from  that 
which  is  spreading  disease,  and  poverty,  and  premature 
death  throughout  my  neighborhood  ? Would  it  be  right 
for  me  to  derive  my  living  from  selling  poison,  or  from 
propagating  plague  or  leprosy  around  me  ?” 

“ Can  it  be  right  for  me  to  derive  my  living  from 
that,  which  is  debasing  the  minds,  ruining  the  souls, 
destroying  for  ever  the  happiness  of  the  domestic  circle, 
filling  the  land  with  women  and  children  in  a condition 
far  more  deplorable  than  that  of  widows  and  orphans ; 
which  is  the  cause  of  nine-tenths  of  all  the  crimes 
which  are  perpetrated  in  society,  and  brings  upon  it 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  pauperism  which  exists ; which 
accomplishes  all  these  at  once , and  which  does  it  with- 
out ceasing  ?-  Do  you  say  you  are  not  responsible  for 
the  acts  of  your  neighbor  ? Is  this  clearly  so  ? Is  not 
he  who  navigates  a slave-ship  a pirate  ?” — Rev.  R.  F. 
Wayland,  a Baptist. 

We  will  now  introduce  some  of  the  epithets  that 
have  been  used. 

“ It  cannot  be  denied,  that  distillers,  venders,  and  pur- 
chasers of  ardent  spirits  are  accessories  to  the  crimes 
of  drunkenness.  It  is  an  unhallowed  traffic, 

AND  LIKE  THAT  IN  HUMAN  BLOOD,  SHOULD  RECEIVE 
THE  REPROBATION  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  WORLD.” 

Circular  Letter  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Baptist  Association . 


262 


SERMON  X. 


“ Who  made  the  300,000  drunkards  that  now  defile 
and  disgrace  our  country?  Who  caused  the  death  ot 
the  30,000  sots  who  have  died  in  the  United  States 
within  the  past  year  ? Where  does  this  responsibility 
rest?  It  must  be  somewhere.  It  can  be  nowhere 
else  than  upon  the  dealer  in  ardent  spirits.  I am  deeply 
convinced  that  the  evils  of  intemperance  can  never 
cease,  till  the  virtuous  in  society  shall  unite  in  pro- 
nouncing the  man,  who  attempts  to  accumulate  wealth, 
by  dealing  out  poison  and  death  to  his  neighbor,  as 
infamous .” — Rev . Mr.  Pierpont , Unitarian. 

“ I consider  the  man  who  deals  in  ardent  spirits,  a 
pirate  on  the  rights  of  community.” — Gerrit  Smith. 

We  will  now  introduce  a few  of  the  assertions  that 
have  been  made. 

“ To  make  or  sell  ardent  spirits  for  common  use,  is 
as  wicked  as  to  make  or  sell  poisons  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. It  being  admitted  that  the  use  of  this  article  is 
destructive  to  health,  reputation,  and  property,  (and 
the  proof  on  this  point  is  overwhelming,)  it  follows 
conclusively,  that  those  who  make  it,  sin  with  a high 
hand  against  God  and  their  fellow  men.  The  blood 
of  murdered  souls  and  bodies  will  be  required  at  their 
hands” — Judge  Dagget,  of  Conn. 

“ This  question  we  fearlessly  submit  to  reason  and 
to  conscience.  Is  it  not  morally  wrong  ? Is  it  not  an 
offence  against  sound  morality  and  true  piety  ? We 
fear  that  all,  engaged  in  this  traffic,  will  be  held  ame- 
nable at  the  tribunal  of  the  great  day,  not  only  as  par- 
takers of  other  people’s  sins,  in  directly  furnishing 
them  with  the  means  of  committing  the  sin  of  intem- 
perance, but  as  responsible  too,  along  with  them,  for 
those  deeds  of  iniquity  committed  while  under  the 


INTOXICATING  LldUORS. 


263 


influence  of  the  intoxicating  draught.*’ — Glasgow 
paper. 

“ The  traffic  in  ardent  spirits  as  a drink,  is  an  im- 
morality, and  ought  to  be  viewed  as  such  throughout 
the  world.” — Synod  of  Albany,  and  Gen.  Associations 
of  Conn.,  Mass.,  and  Maine. 

“ The  evil  effects  of  ardent  spirits  are  not  exhibited 
alone  on  those  who  drink.  The  very  traffic  stands 
unrivalled  for  its  hardening  and  debasing  influence 
on  those  engaged  in  its  operations.” — John  L.  Chand- 
ler, M.  D. 

“ No  one  can  doubt  that  the  traffic  in  ardent  spirits 
is  productive  of  immorality.” — Rev.  D.  Skinner , Uni - 
versalist. 

“ I challenge  any  man  who  understands  the  nature 
of  ardent  spirits,  and  yet,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  con- 
tinues to  be  engaged  in  the  traffic,  to  show  that  he  is 
not  involved  in  the  guilt  of  murder.” — Dr.  Beecher , 
Presbyterian. 

“ They  who  keep  these  fountains  of  pollution  and 
crime  open,  are  sharers,  to  no  small  extent,  in  the 
guilt  which  flows  from  them.  They  command  the 
gateway  of  that  mighty  flood,  which  is  spreading 
desolation  through  the  land ; and  are  chargeable  with 
all  the  present  and  everlasting  consequences,  no  less 
than  the  infatuated  victim  who  throws  himself  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  burning  torrent,  and  is  borne  by  it 
into  the  gulf  of  woe.” — Dr.  Spring,  Presbyterian. 

“No  proposition  seems  to  me  susceptible  of  more 
satisfactory  demonstration  than  this ; that,  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  information  on  this  subject,  no  man  can 
think  to  act  on  Christian  principles,  or  do  a patriots 
duty  to  his  country,  and  at  the  same  time  make  or 


264 


SERMON  X. 


sell  the  instrument  of  intoxication.” — Rev.  H.  Ware , 
Unitarian . 

Such  are  the  comparisons,  epithets,  and  assertions 
by  which  leading  men  of  various  professions,  and  va- 
rious religious  denominations  have  expressed  their 
views  of  this  traffic.  One  or  two  of  them  have  done 
more,  as  you  perceive,  than  call  it  immoral.  They 
have  shown  wherein  the  immorality  consists.  Yes, 
they  have  asserted  the  very  doctrine  of  this  discourse. 
And  now  to  the  proof  of  that  doctrine ; which  is — that 
to  use  alcohol  as  an  ordinary  drink  is  suicide ; to  make, 
give,  or  sell  it  to  be  so  used,  is  murder  by  the  statutes 
of  Heaven,  and  ought  to  be,  in  consistency,  by  the 
laws  of  human  governments.  The  validity  of  the 
proof  depends  upon  the  truth  and  justice  of  those  prin- 
ciples, which  we  have  found  in  the  laws  of  civilized 
countries,  and  in  the  Bible.  To  them  we  must,  there- 
fore, refer.  It  has  been  stated  that,  in  a case  of  murder, 
three  things  are  inquired  after.  1.  Was  the  person 
killed  ? 2.  Was  it  by  an  overt  act  of  another  ? 3.  Was 

it  done  with  feelings  of  malice,  revenge,  or  by  an  un- 
dervaluing of  human  life  ? And  the  feelings  of  the 
murderer  determine  whether  it  is  murder  in  the  first  or 
second  degree.  Another  inquiry  may  arise.  Is  he 
principal,  or  accessory?  If  he  directly  administered 
the  poison,  in  the  case  of  death  by  poison,  he  is  prin- 
cipal. If  he  sold  it  to  a second  person,  knowing  that 
he  meant  to  sell  it  to  a third,  to  be  used  in  a way  that 
injured  life ; then  he  is  an  accessory  before  the  fact. 
And  the  only  point  further  needed  to  prove  our  propo- 
sition, is — whether  alcohol  taken  into  the  stomach  is  a 
poison.  On  this  point,  whenever  there  is  any  doubt 
in  a court,  they  send  lor  medical  men.  These  are  the 


INTOXICATING  LIGtUORS. 


265 


witnesses,  I shall  presently  subpoena,  after  you  have 
listened  for  a few  moments  to  the  vender’s  pleas.  I say 
nothing  now  about  the  suicidal  guilt  of  drinking  alco- 
hol ; because  it  will  be  involved  in  the  other  principle, 
if  that  be  established. 

Pleas  of  the  al  cohol- seller : 

1;  If  I should  kill  a man  by  arsenic , it  would  be 
murder;  but  I sell  alcohol. 

I grant,  that  this  plea  will  now  acquit  you  at  the 
bar  of  an  unenlightened  conscience,  of  an  uninformed 
public  sentiment,  and  in  the  criminal  courts  of  human 
governments.  But,  from  what  part  of  God’s  statute 
will  you  draw  the  ground  of  such  a plea  ? In  which 
chapter  is  it  written, — ‘ you  shall  not  kill  by  arsenic, 
but  you  may  by  alcohol  V When  inquisition  is  made 
for  blood  ; when  a precious  human  life  has  been  de- 
stroyed ; can  that  righteous  lawgiver  admit  such  a 
distinction? 

2.  j But  I deny  that  it  is  a poison  like  arsenic . Then 
let  us  call  in  the  medical  men.  We  begin  with  Dr. 
Rush.  He  declared,  that  it  was  a poison,  which  brought 
on  eighteen  or  twenty  of  the  most  painful,  formidable, 
and  fatal  diseases.  Go  to  all  the  books  on  Materia 
Medica.  Look  at  the  index,  for  the  word  alcohol , and 
you  will  be  referred  to  the  class  of  narcotic  vegetable 
poisons,  and  find  it  ranked,  for  its  effects  on  the  human 
body,  with  henbane,  deadly  nightshade,  and  hemlock; 
and  considered  as  exerting  on  the  human  frame  an  in- 
fluence similar  to  the  continued  action  of  the  plague, 
typhus  fever,  and  small-pox.  While  they  thus  con- 
sider alcohol  a poison,  when  taken  into  the  stomach, 
they  trace  its  deadly  march,  and  watch  its  effects  on 
the  vital  organs.  It  is  carried  by  the  blood  to  every 

23 


266 


SERMON  X. 


one,  and  each  is  deranged  by  its  touch.  They  have 
extensively  signed  the  declaration  in  this  country  and 
in  Great  Britain,  that  it  is  the  constant  source  of  dis- 
ease and  death.  Many  of  them  assure  us,  that  the 
Cholera  gathers  half  its  virulence  from  the  poisonous 
effects  of  alcohol.  “ I have  no  doubt,”  says  an  eminent 
physician,  “ that  one  half  of  the  men,  who  die  of  fevers 
every  year,  might  recover,  had  it  not  been  for  the  use 
of  spirituous  liquor.  No  one  but  a physician  knows, 
how  powerfully  all  inflammatory  diseases  are  increased 
even  by  what  is  called  temperate  drinking;  or  how 
fatally  the  best  remedies  in  the  world  are  counteracted 
by  the  same  cause.  I have  seen  men  who  were  never 
intoxicated,  prostrated  twenty  days  with  a fever,  who, 
but  for  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  probably  would  not 
have  been  confined  to  the  house  for  a day.”  Dr. 
Hosack  has  remarked  that  one  in  ten  of  the  Quakers 
lives  to  eighty  years,  while  the  average  of  human  life 
is  such  that  only  one  in  forty  lives  to  that  age.  This 
he  traces  to  their  total  abstinence  from  the  use  of  dis- 
tilled liquors.  Thus  it  is  manifest,  that  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits  takes  an  average  of  fourteen  years  from 
every  human  life.  A physician  in  this  State,  from  his 
own  observation  and  accurate  calculation,  ascertained 
the  difference  between  the  life  of  the  sober  and  the 
drunken  to  be  about  thirty  years.  Can  it  then  be  over- 
rating, when  the  number  destroyed  by  alcohol  in  the 
United  States  is  computed  to  be  50,000  annually  ? And 
can  any  vender  of  ardent  spirits  plead  before  an  intel- 
ligent community,  or  at  the  bar  of  God — c I am  not 
selling  poison  7 But  he  continues  his  apologies. 

3.  £ You  surely  cannot  call  it  murder , when  a man 
may  drink  this  poison  for  fifty  years  and  not  die.1 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


267 


This  plea  we  have  anticipated,  by  showing  that  the 
leno-thof  time  between  the  act  which  caused  death,  and 
the  death  itself,  does  not  alter  its  criminality,  provided 
medical  men  will  testify  that  the  act  caused  the  death. 
And  although  it  may  screen  you  at  an  earthly  tribunal, 
it  surely  cannot  at  that  bar  where  infinite  justice  pre- 
sides. If  some  men  do  drink  and  live  fifty  years,  others 
lose  thirty  years  of  life.  These  United  States  lose  yearly 
from  thirty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  lives  by  you  and 
your  colleagues  in  the  work  of  death.  Who  is  respon- 
sible for  these,  if  you  are  not  ? He  replies  again  : 

4.  'I  have  no  unkind  or  malicious  feelings  towards 
any  of  my  customers There  is  in  history  a famous 
case  parallel  to  this.  When  Jesus  of  Nazareth  stood 
before  Pilate,  the  Roman  governor  reverenced  him ; he 
was  convinced  of  his  innocence  ; he  indulged  none  but 
the  kindest  feelings  towards  him.  And  when  at  last  he 
signed  the  death  warrant,  he  took  water,  before  the  peo- 
ple, and  washed  his  hands.  Did  he  wash  from  his  soul 
the  stain  of  murder  ? I apprehend  that  we  shall  give 
a unanimous  verdict  in  that  case.  There  is  another  : — 
Judas  Iscariot  seems  never  to  have  entertained  any 
malice  prepense  towards  his  Master.  And  when  he 
saw  the  unanticipated  result  of  his  treachery,  he  was  so 
astounded  and  overwhelmed  with  a sense  of  guilt,  that 
life  was  intolerable.  Another  case  : — The  highwayman 
who  stopped  Rowland  Hill  in  his  carriage,  had  no  ma- 
lice, as  is  evident  from  the  sequel ; and  was  even  a 
tender  hearted  man,  driven  by  the  wants  of  his  family 
to  this  desperate  course.  Suppose  he  had  murdered 
Mr.  Hill ; would  he  have  been  guilty  ? If  so  ; then  let 
us  draw  a parallel.  The  vender  of  alcohol  has  no  un- 
kind feelings  towards  the  victims,  who  die  beneath  the 


268 


SERMON  X . 


scorching  fires  of  the  still.  Neither  had  Pilate,  nor 
Judas,  nor  the  highwayman  in  the  cases  alluded  to. 
The  vender  only  wants  to  obtain  money.  So  did  Ju- 
das and  the  highwayman.  Pilate  only  wanted  to  save 
his  credit.  The  vender  would  even  be  rejoiced  to  ob- 
tain his  ends  without  the  fatal  results.  For  venders 
are  men,  possessed  of  conscience  and  sensibility.  They 
can  feel  distressed  at  another’s  woe.  And  their  busi- 
ness is  to  them  a source  of  much  distress,  whenever 
they  do  trace  it  to  its  results.  It  would,  this  hour, 
lighten  up  the  corroding  burden  from  ten  thousand  dis- 
tressed minds  in  this  country ; it  would  create  a jubilee, 
if  it  could  be  ascertained  and  proclaimed  abroad,  that 
all  which  has  been  said  about  alcohol  is  false,  and 
should  be  contradicted  by  the  same  intelligent,  upright, 
competent,  influential  men,  who  have  expressed  their 
views  on  this  subject.  So  would  Pilate  have  rejoiced 
to  have  saved  his  honor  and  his  victim.  So  would 
Herod  Antipas  have  delighted  to  save  John  the  Baptist, 
and  at  the  same  time  his  credit  with  those  who  sat  about 
him.  Judas  and  the  highwayman  wanted  only  money, 
not  the  destruction  of  life.  See,  then,  your  common 
criminality,  and  the  righteous  principle  on  which  you 
will  together  be  condemned, — the  principle,  which  we 
have  found  in  our  statutes,  and  which  will  be  found  in 
the  statute  books  of  Heaven.  You,  and  Herod,  and 
Pilate,  and  Judas,  and  the  highwayman,  cause  death 
simply  by  caring  more  for  your  own  honor  or  paltry 
gain,  than  for  the  life  of  a fellow  being.  Murder , oc- 
casioned by  recklessness  of  human  life , will  be  your 
crime,  no  matter  what  your  feelings  may  be. 

Let  us  hear  him  again  : 

5.  ‘If  I do  not  sell,  others  will?  Carry  that  plea 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


269 


before  the  bar  of  your  fellow  mortal.  Tell  him  that 
there  are  a great  many  murderers ; and  if  you  did  not 
commit  murder,  some  one  else  would.  Oh  ! shame  on 
the  degeneracy  of  man  ! — degeneracy  of  heart  and  stu- 
pidity of  understanding,  that  he  can  for  one  moment 
ease  a laboring  conscience  with  so  shallow  a plea. 

6.  £ If  respectable  men  leave  it:  bad  men  will  take  it 
up?  Then  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  had  better  become 
managers  of  our  theatres  and  keepe  fs  of  gambling 
houses.  Our  governor  had  better  take  all  the  murder- 
ing and  highway  robbing  into  his  own  hands,  to  have 
it  done  respectably,  and  to  keep  worse  men  from  it. 
How  much  consolation  it  must  administer  to  that 
wretched  wife,  who  sits  shivering  at  midnight  over  the 
dying  embers,  to  think  that  her  husband  is  drinking  at 
the  store  of  a pious  deacon,  who  has  prayed  over  his 
barrels  and  bottles  and  measures  ! How  it  mitigates 
the  horror  and  the  guilt  of  his  awful  death,  to  reflect 
that  it  was  done  by  a respectable  man ; and  that  he  had 
a license  from  the  civil  authorities  to  do  it ! Oh ! mock 
not  the  bleeding  heart  with  such  an  apology.  Oh ! 
venture  not  to  the  judgment  seat  with  such  a plea ! 
To  this  it  has  been  replied,  since  the  first  delivery  of 
this  discourse.  £ The  law  does  not  forbid  the  sale  of 
ardent  spirits , while  it  does  forbid  murder?  This  is 
an  evasion,  not  an  answer.  We  have  not  asserted  that 
human  laws  made  this  traffic  murder,  but  that  it  is  in- 
trinsically so,  and  will  be  so  construed  by  the  law  of 
God,  and  that  your  plea, — that  you  wanted  it  done  re- 
spectably,— will  appear  infinitely  foolish  at  the  bar  of 
God. 

Now,  there  is  one  plea  which  will  be  valid,  if  you  can 
sustain  it.  It  is, — that  you  were  necessarily  ignorant 

23* 


270 


SERMON  X. 


of  the  nature  and  tendency  of  alcohol  when  used  as  an 
ordinary  drink.  You  must  not  only  be  ignorant,  but 
necessarily  so.  If  mere  ignorance  were  a sufficient 
excuse,  then  men  have  only  to  remain  ignorant  of  what 
is  right  and  what  is  wrong ; and  every  thing  they  do  is 
innocent,  however  destructive  of  the  interests  and  hap- 
piness of  others.  This  excuse  has  been  long  ago  swept 
away  by  every  criminal  court.  And  it  is  only  when 
ignorance  is  un  ivoidable,  that  a person  may  do  a wrong 
action  without  guilt.  Let  it  then  be  understood,  that 
whatever  may  have  been  the  case  in  former  days,  the 
venders  of  alcohol  can  no  longer  plead  necessary  ignor- 
ance. For  they  may  know  the  true  nature  and  neces- 
sary effects  of  alcohol  on  the  human  system. 

It  was  often  said, — ‘ Why:  very  good  men  drank  and 
sold  ardent  spirits ; ivere  they  all  suicides  and  mur- 
derers T This  is  a fair  question,  and  should  be  fairly 
answered.  The  morality,  or  immorality,  of  any  action 
is  always  the  same  in  itself  considered.  Right  and 
wrong  are  eternal  and  immutable  distinctions.  The 
moment  in  which  two  intelligent  beings  exist,  there  also 
exist  natural  relations  between  them.  And  out  of  these 
spring,  naturally  and  necessarily,  duties  and  obligations ; 
and  whenever  to  the  natural  are  added  artificial  rela- 
tions, out  of  these  spring  new  duties  and  obligations. 
Every  action  they  then  perform  is  either  right  or  wrong, 
conformed  or  not  conformed  to  a natural,  eternal,  un- 
changeable standard.  This  standard  is  not  the  result 
even  of  the  Divine  will,  nor  an  object  on  which  even 
Omnipotence  can  exert  itself.  Much  less  do  right  and 
wrong  depend  on  the  fickle  opinions  of  men,  on  human 
legislation,  public  sentiments,  or  the  customs  of  society. 
The  very  holiness  of  God  is  conformity  to  this  standard : 


INTOXICATING  L I Q,  U O R S . 


271 


it  is  not,  first  making  a thing  right,  and  then  being  con- 
formed. But  God  is  holy  in  loving  and  choosing  what 
is  right.  Every  custom  is  then  eternally  right  or  wrong. 
That  is — it  was  always  wrong  for  men  to  be  shortening 
their  lives  by  drinking  a poison  ; just  as  wrong  as  it  is 
now.  It  was  always  as  wrong  to  capture  the  natives 
of  Africa  and  sell  them  in  a foreign  country  as  it  is 
now.  It  is  no  more  really  piracy,  now  that  civilized 
nations  have  thus  denominated  it,  than  it  was  then. 
But  the  degree  of  personal  guilt  does  depend  on  the 
degree  of  light  which  an  individual,  who  sincerely  de- 
sires to  know  what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong  may 
obtain.  If  the  nature  and  essentia]  effects  of  alcohol 
could  not  be  known  by  our  fathers,  as  they  are  known 
by  us,  then  they  were  not  so  guilty.  No  one  can  be- 
lieve that  it  was  any  thing  else  than  murder  in  an  in 
habitant  of  India  to  kill  her  child  ; and  yet  no  one  can 
believe  that  she  is  as  guilty,  as  a mother  in  Albany  who 
should  do  the  same  thing.  But,  should  we  confer  a 
favor  on  these  heathen  mothers  by  permitting  them  to 
remain  in  darkness  ? or  is  it  philanthropy  and  duty  to 
go  and  pour  the  light  of  God’s  eternal  law  upon  their 
practices,  and  tell  them  distinctly,  that  it  is  murder  ? 
Will  their  civil  and  domestic  condition  be  injured  or 
improved  by  such  a mission  and  such  preaching? 
“Why,’  they  reply,  ‘our  mothers  were  many  of  them 
very  good,  and  they  did  so.  Were  they  guilty  of  mur- 
der V The  only  true  reply  is,  and  must  be — they  com- 
mitted murder,  as  they  committed  all  the  other  crimes 
for  which  God  condemns  them.  But  the  degree  of  their 
guilt  depended  on  the  knowledge  they  could  have  that 
it  was  wrong. 

To  return,  then,  from  our  digression,  I repeat : — to 


272 


SERMON  X. 


sell  alcohol  as  a drink,  is  now  murder  in  the  sight  of 
God,  without  any  mitigation ; and  that,  for  two  reasons  : 
because  alcohol  kills,  and  because  this  may  be  known 
to  be  its  natural  effect.  If  any  are  ignorant,  their  ig- 
norance is  voluntary.  They  love  the  darkness  more 
than  the  light,  and  they  will  not  come  to  the  light  lest 
their  deeds  be  reproved.  Nor  would  I make  so  tre- 
mendous a charge  against  the  traffickers  without  proof. 
You  will  not  require  me  to  give  an  extended  proof, 
that  alcohol  is  a poison  and  an  enemy  of  human  life. 
I speak  of  that  substance  which  Segalas,  an  eminent 
French  physiologist  introduced  into  the  vein  of  a dog, 
and  he  instantly  dropped  down  dead.  I speak  of  that 
substance,  of  which,  if  the  speaker  should  drink  that 
tumbler  full,  he  would  probably  in  ten  minutes  gasp  in 
the  agonies  of  death.  You  know  the  substance : it  is 
poison — sheer,  unnutritive,  fiery  poison.  This  is  the 
first  fact  on  which  this  awful  charge  is  founded.  The 
second  is — that  the  distiller,  the  wholesale  merchant, 
the  grocer,  the  tavern-keeper,  may  know  its  nature  and 
effect.  If  that  is  true,  O my  fellow-citizens  ! tremble. 
For,  He  cometh,  He  cometh  to  the  judgment.  And 
when  inquisition  is  made  for  blood,  if  you  cannot  fly 
behind  this  last  refuge  of  involuntary  ignorance,  your 
case  is  hopeless.  Let  us,  then,  see  how  the  matter 
stands.  Every  drinker  and  vender  of  alcohol  in  this 
city  may  know  that  it  kills — from  two  sources : — 

1.  From  physicians,  who  declares  that  this  is  its 
natural  and  necessary  effect,  as  truly  as  it  is  of  fire  to 
consume ; that  it  is  no  more  adapted  to  do  man  good 
than  henbane  is.  Now,  suppose  the  man  who  dropped 
down  and  died  just  after  leaving  a grocery,  had  been 
last  at  yours.  A coroner’s  jury  pronounce  it  death 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


273 


caused  by  intoxication.  You  are  arraigned  for  mur- 
der; one  of  those  physicians  who  has  already  pro- 
nounced alcohol  a poison,  is  subpoenaed  as  a witness. 
He  is  ordered  to  examine  the  corpse.  He  comes  into 
court  and  says, — £ The  death  was  manifestly  caused 
by  the  alcohol  that  he  had  just  drunk.’  The  court 
then  ask ; ‘ Is  alcohol  a poison  V ‘ It  has  always  been 
so  ranked  by  medical  chemists.  I have  analyzed  it, 
and  I pronounce  it  a poison.’  Other  witnesses  are 
called  in  to  show  that  you  administered  that  poison.  I 
ask  then,  on  what  principle  will  an  honest  jury  hesi- 
tate and  refuse  to  pronounce  you  guilty;  when  the 
court  shall  have  instructed  them  that  you  might  have 
known  the  nature  of  the  article  and  its  natural  effects, 
from  the  immense  number  and  variety  of  the  publi- 
cations, sermons  and  addresses  which  repeat  the  testi- 
mony of  the  physician  ? From  this  city  alone  millions 
are  issued  every  year.  This  is  precisely  one  of  that 
class  of  cases  in  which  the  testimony  of  the  physician 
turns  the  scale  in  the  decisions  of  the  jury,  even  where 
life  and  death  are  at  issue.  But  these  very  men  now 
tell  you,  that  you  are  dealing  out  poison.  Will  God 
then  hold  you  guiltless,  even  if  man  approve  your 
course  ? 

But  there  is  still  another  source  of  knowledge,  which 
leaves  you  yet  more  inexcusable  : — it  is,  your  own  ob- 
servation, confirmed  by  that  of  men  of  every  class. 
Not  as  in  the  former  case,  the  tracing  internally  its 
fiery  track  over  one  tissue  of  the  body  after  another, 
and  from  one  channel  of  life  to  another;  but  its  visible, 
external  effects ; effects  so  manifest,  any  child  eight 
years  old  can  trace  them  to  their  cause;  effects  to 
which  you  can  get  testimony  until  no  house  could  hold 


274 


SERMON  X. 


the  statements  which  might  be  written.  Ask  your  little 
child,  as  he  sees  your  neighbor,  a stout,  strong  man, 
reeling  out  of  your  store,  4 What  ails  that  man  V 
‘ Why,  father  ! he  is  drunk ; you  gave  him  something 
from  that  decanter,  and  that  makes  him  stacker  so.’ 
Never  were  cause  and  effect  more  manifestly  connected. 
Its  first  visible  influence  is  on  the  muscles.  And  if  the 
man  were  a giant,  this  serpent  would  coil  around  him, 
and  wrap  his  iron  sinews  in  its  fiery  embrace  until, 
from  very  infantile  weakness,  his  head  would  be  too 
heavy  for  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  the  hands  too 
weighty  for  the  muscles  of  the  arm,  the  body  too  heavy 
for  the  knees ; and  then  they  bend,  and  reel  and  stag- 
ger, until  he  presses  to  the  earth,  just  as  closely  as 
a log. 

This  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  death.  I 
hope  I shall  not  exaggerate  in  any  thing.  In  a case 
where  the  truth  is  so  awful,  it  would  be  both  foolish 
and  sinful  to  state  any  thing  but  facts  to  produce  the 
deepest  impression. 

The  next  thing  which  you  cannot  fail  to  observe  is, 
that  the  brain  is  strongly  and  injuriously  affected.  The 
brain  is  the  most  delicate  and  mysterious  part  of  the 
human  body : its  state  may  generally  be  known  by  the 
state  of  the  mind.  Look  then  at  the  attack  you  have 
made  on  this  vital  organ.  If  your  customer  be  De- 
mosthenes, whose  eloquence,  one  hour  before,  has  made 
a continent  tremble ; look  at  him  now  as  your  poison 
begins  to  seize  the  brain.  See  his  drivelling;  mark 
his  eye. — Its  lightning-flash  is  gone.  Hear  his  speech; 
blasphemous,  obscene,  idiotic ! Oh ! where  is  his 
mind  ? Ask  not — the  poison  of  Arabia  is  maddening 
his  brain.  But  I cannot,  now,  follow  the  history  of 


INTOXICATING  LIQ,UORS.  275 

those  signals,  which  nature,  tortured,  scorched  and  mad- 
dened in  every  vital  organ,  successively  holds  out.  The 
eye,  the  color  of  the  face,  its  muscles,  the  nose,  the  tremb- 
ling hand,  plead  eloquently,  that  you  would  stop  your 
victorious  attack  on  every  citadel  of  life.  The  loss  of  ap- 
petite,—indigestion, — soon  proclaims  that  another  vital 
organ, — the  liver, — is  yielding  to  the  universal  con- 
queror whom  you  have  sent  to  wage  this  unrelenting 
warfare. 

Our  city  and  New- York  taught  us  some  impressive 
lessons  on  this  subject,  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
cholera.  One  in  sixty  of  our  alcohol-drinking  popu- 
lation died ; while  only  one  in  twenty- five  hundred  of 
the  members  of  our  temperance-societies  died  by  it.  In 
New- York,  it  is  said,  that  of  the  six  hundred  taken  to 
Park  Hospital,  scarcely  any  died  who  had  drank  no 
ardent  spirits  for  two  years.  It  was  remarked  by  an 
intelligent  observer,  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  sale 
and  use  of  ardent  spirits,  there  would  not  have  been 
cholera  enough  to  suspend  business  for  a single  day. 

Did  you  ever  see  a case  of  delirium  tr emeus  ? — 
Did  you  not  think  then  that  alcohol  was  a poison? 
Did  you  hear  the  scream,  the  maniac-scream? — did 
you  see  the  poor  wretch  trying  to  drive  away  the  devils 
with  which  his  distracted  fancy  was  filling  the  air  ? — 
did  you  see  him  try  to  wipe  off  the  filthy  snakes  which 
he  saw  crawling  all  over  his  body  ? Did  you  not  think 
then  that  alcohol  was  a poison?  In  the  year  1833, 
Mr.  Hogan  tells  us,  that  in  our  jail  alone,  from  the  rum 
sold  in  this  city,  there  were  at  least  one  hundred  cases 
of  delirium  tremens . The  only  death  there  in  the 
year,  was  that  of  a woman  by  this  horrid  disease. 

It  has  been  observed  by  our  judges,  police  magis- 


276 


SERMON  X. 


trates  and  jailers,  that  scarcely  a case  of  murder  occurs 
in  this  country,  but  under  the  influence  of  alcohol. 
You  probably  read  the  account  of  that  father,  who 
after  spending  the  evening  in  a scene  of  groveling  dis- 
sipation and  frantic  not,  was  transformed  into  an  in- 
furiated demon  ; went  home  ; found  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren in  bed  ; took  the  axe  and  knocked  them  all  in 
the  head,  like  so  many  brutes ; then  cut  his  own  throat, 
and  madly  hurried  to  tell  his  Judge,  that  for  a paltry 
pittance,  his  neighbor  gave  him  the  bowl  of  madness, 
that  turned  his  brain,  and  he  rushed  to  murder,  to 
death,  to  hell.  Do  I exaggerate  ? God  forbid.  Only 
go  to  the  files  of  newspapers  in  our  city  for  ten  years, 
and,  if  you  cannot  learn  that  alcohol  is  a poison,  then 
you  must  either  plead  idiocy,  or  stand  convicted  of 
voluntary  ignorance. 

Where  would  you  find  alcohol  if  he  were  a real  per- 
son ? Is  there  a scene  of  rioting,  profaneness,  debauch- 
ery— is  there  a place  of  sinful  amusement,  a place 
where  the  mind  is  exhibited  in  its  utmost  depravity,  in 
which  its  influence  is  not  predominant?  Is  there  a 
hovel  of  wretchedness  and  want,  in  which  you  may 
not  point  to  the  badges  of  misery ; and  say,  4 These 
are  the  natural  fruits  of  this  tree  V It  poisons  the  mind 
as  well  as  the  body.  The  horrid  murders  recently 
committed  on  the  Baltimore  rail-road  can  be  traced  en- 
tirely to  the  influence  of  the  whiskey  drank  by  the  la- 
borers in  immense  quantities.  After  the  laborers  there 
became  accustomed  to  the  frequent  use  of  it  from  the 
hands  of  the  contractors,  they  became  indolent,  and  at 
pay-day  were  cut  down  in  their  wages.  They  vowed 
revenue,  and  such  a scene  of  turbulence  and  blood  as 
was  enacted  on  the  Baltimore  and  Washington  rail 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS, 


277 


road,  has  been  seldom  seen  in  this  country.  The  ter- 
rified inhabitants  were  seen  flying  from  their  houses  in 
utter  dismay.  And  it  seems  as  if  God  permitted  this 
occurrence  in  order  to  punish  those  contractors,  and  to 
lift  the  light  so  high  and  glaring  on  this  point,  that 
none  could  any  longer  sin  ignorantly. 

Alcohol  is  poison.  No  fact  in  human  science  is 
established  by  evidence  of  a more  certain  kind,  and  of 
greater  variety,  than  this — that  alcohol  is  a poison.  Its 
general  properties  and  its  hidden  effects  on  the  body 
are  attested  by  hundreds  of  scientific  men.  Its  external, 
obvious  effects,  are  attested  by  the  senses  of  millions. 
These  effects  are  not  rare  and  occasional,  but  regular 
and  necessary.  The  drunkard’s  woes  and  premature 
death  are  entirely  unnatural,  and  the  direct  and  legiti- 
mate result  of  drinking  a poison.  Where  is,  then,  the 
ground  of  an  apology  to  any  one  in  this  country  who 
has  eyes  or  ears — that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  nature 
and  effects  of  ardent  spirits?  We  see  none.  Let  us 
then  repeat  the  doctrine  of  our  discourse : — 

To  use  alcohol  as  an  ordinary  drink , is  suicide. 
To  make , give,  or  sell  it  to  be  so  used , is  murder , by 
Heaven's  law , even  if  that  law  be  interpreted  by  the 
principles  adopted  in  human  legislation. 

But  the  crime  of  the  spirit- vender  has  yet  another 
aggravation.  It  not  only  is  murder,  but  is,  in  all  its 
bearings,  the  most  cruel  form  of  murder  ever  yet  de- 
vised by  Satanic  cunning  and  malice.  It  is  different 
from  any  form  of  murder  which  highwaymen  or  pirates 
ever  adopt.  Contrast  a death  by  alcohol  with  one 
caused  by  a pistol-shot. 

Mark — 

1.  The  protracted  bodily  suffering.  You  boast  that 
24 


278 


SERMON  X . 


your  customers  live  a great  while.  Yes,  but  how  do 
they  live '?  Hours,  months,  years  in  protracted  disease 
that  first  preys  on  one  delicate  fibre,  and  then  on 
another.  Who  hath  woes  ? The  drinker  of  your  slow 
poison. 

A pistol-shot  drives  through  the  heart,  and  one  or 
two  convulsive  struggles  finish  the  sufferings  of  earth. 

2.  There  are  protracted  shame , fear , convictions , 
and  struggles.  You  say, — ‘ My  customers  are  free 
agents.  I do  not  force  them  to  drink.’  Yes,  they  are 
free,  and  that  makes  your  species  of  murder  so  cruel. 
Give  it  to  a swine,  and  he  is  not  called  to  render  ac- 
count for  the  sin  of  drunkenness,  or  any  crimes  result- 
ing from  it.  But  you  give  it  to  a man ; a free  account- 
able being.  His  relations  to  God  and  to  society  are 
various  and  complicated.  He  is  a subject  of  God’s 
moral  government,  an  object  of  redeeming  mercy’s 
tenderest  regard.  He  is  a son,  brother,  citizen,  friend, 
father.  Every  glass,  that  you  hand  out,  vibrates  along 
the  most  delicate  chord,  jars  in  harsh  discord  amid 
some  of  the  sweetest  music  of  life,  disturbs  its  most  im- 
portant harmonies,  and  runs  in  its  influence  farther,  in 
extent  and  duration,  than  you  have  yet  conceived.  If 
a robber  had  pierced  a man  through  with  a sword,  he 
might  be  for  weeks  writhing  in  bodily  pain ; but  his 
mind  would  not  be  agonized  with  shame.  He  is  wil- 
ling that  his  friends  should  come  and  see  him.  The 
victims  of  your  cruelty,  all  the  way  down  through  the 
long,  slow  process  of  death,  lose  the  cheerful  openness 
of  virtue.  They  burn  with  shame  as  with  an  inward 
fire.  The  society  of  the  good  used  to  make  them 
happy ; but  now  it  renders  them  wretched.  The 
gradual  loss  of  character  comes,  in  the  detail,  like  the 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS.  27  i) 

daily  sting  of  a scorpion.  Where  the  smile  of  appro- 
bation and  the  salutation  of  respect  were  once  re- 
ceived, the  cold  indifference  of  neglect,  or  the  more 
rough-edged  sneer  of  contempt,  cuts  across  every  sen- 
sibility of  the  man  whom  you  are  so  slowly  mur- 
dering. 

I have  spoken  of  the  drunkard’s  fears.  They  are 
peculiar  to  himself,  the  peculiar  product  of  your  slow 
poison.  I know  his  first  launch  is  into  the  outer  circle 
of  the  maelstrom.  The  day  smiles  sweetly,  the  waters 
play  harmlessly  around  his  little  bark.  It  is  easy  to 
float.  It  requires  no  oar,  no  helm.  There  is  motion 
without  effort  or  care.  The  circle  sweeps  with  so  large 
a diameter,  it  seems  like  a straight  line.  But  ah  ! the 
delusion  ! It  is  the  curve  of  death.  Each  successive 
sweep  is  swifter  and  in  a diminished  circle.  But  at 
first  it  lulls  to  a sweet  feeling  of  security.  This  gen- 
erally continues,  until  it  is  too  late  to  put  back  the  frail 
bark ; and,  as  it  drives  over  the  first  inward  declivities 
on  the  edge  of  the  awful  tunnel,  then  begin  to  break 
upon  the  ear  a terrific  roar  of  the  mighty  waters  rush- 
ing through  their  subterranean  outlet.  Can  you  tell, 
dealer  in  poison  ! — can  you  tell  what  images  of  terror, 
what  unearthly  sounds  of  horror  are  racking  the  soul 
of  your  customer  while  you  are  quietly  resting  on  your 
pillow?  Remember,  that  it  is  the  angelic  nature  of 
man  rushing  to  ruin.  Oh  ! these  are, — these  must  be 
terrors,  that  baffle  description.  Remember,  that,  as  he 
looks  down  the  yawning  abyss,  and  hears  without  the 
roaring  of  a thousand  thunders,  within  he  is  goaded 
with  the  last  appeals  of  a guilt-oppressd  conscience. 
It  will  not  suffer  the  suicidal  plunge  until  it  has  once 
more  asserted  the  rights  of  God,  and  told  the  terrors  of 


280 


SERMON  X. 


a coming  judgment.  Remember,  that  thirty  thousand 
every  year  are  swallowed  in  this  vortex.  See  how 
thickly  they  cover  the  dark  waters.  See  the  security 
and  hilarity  of  the  nearest  circle.  Hear  the  blas- 
phemies and  babblings  that  rise  above  the  roar  of 
waves.  But,  Oh  ! look  on  the  inner  circles.  See  the 
sons  of  promise  there.  See  how  richly  some  of  their 
barks  are  freighted  with  the  happiness  of  others.  Mark 
how  they  are  now  starting  from  their  dreams.  Listen 
to  the  cry  of  despair ; mark  the  fitful,  convulsive,  un- 
availing struggles  as  they  try  to  press  from  destruction , 
O the  struggles,  the  deadly  struggles  of  a man,  who 
feels  himself  really  becoming  a drunkard,  and  that  in 
view  of  all  it  involves  ! Tenders  and  makers  of  alco- 
hol ! you  murder  slowly.  So  do  the  North  American 
savages.  They  do  not  aim  to  secure  death  alone. 
They  lengthen  life,  where  instant  death  would  be 
mercy.  They  put  off  the  day  and  hour  of  actual 
death,  to  fill  up  the  interval  with  torments.  You  do 
the  same,  not  intentionally,  but  as  actually  and  as 
fatally  to  the  wretched  victims  as  if  it  were  so. 

And  again, — 

3.  It  sends  men  to  a certain  and  eternal  hell.  If 
infidelity  says,  4 That  is  harsh  and  presumptuous,5  1 
place  my  feet  on  the  pedestal  of  truth,  the  word  of  God, 
“ No  drunkard  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.55  Al- 
cohol, I say  from  the  Bible,  fits  men  for  hell,  slowly, 
but  surely,  and  then  leaves  it  not  to  any  other  agent, 
but  carries  them  to  the  verge  of  the  precipice,  and,  to 
crown  all  its  career  of  cruelty  and  murder,  plunges 
them  into  a burning  eternal  damnation.  I mean, — the 
alcohol-vender  does.  And  between  this  fact  and  sheer 
infidelity,  there  is  no  middle  ground  of  belief.  You 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


281 


may  close  your  eyes  and  ears  against  it ; but  it  is  true 
as  the  word  of  God. 

But  this  species  of  murder  has  yet  a wider  reach  of 
cruelty.  Other  kinds  may  distress  a large  circle  of  re- 
spectable friends.  But  they  strike  one  painful  blow, 
and  leave  the  soothing  hand  of  time  to  heal  the  wound. 
This  lashes  and  pierces  with  scorpion-sting,  for  months 
and  years,  and  adds  continually  another  and  a keener 
point,  to  keep  innocent  hearts  bleeding.  I allude  to  the 
painful  and  protracted  anxiety  of  friends,  when  the 
doubtful  point  begins  to  be  agitated — £ is  he  becoming 
a drunkard  V None,  but  they  who  feel  it,  can  tell  how 
that  agitation  turns  every  sweet  fountain  of  earthly  en- 
joyment into  wormwood  and  gall.  I allude  to  the 
anxiety,  which  is  started  again  in  their  minds,  when 
one  experiment  after  another  is  ingeniously  made  to 
keep  the  self-destroyer  from  the  place  of  murder,  and 
from  the  allurements  of  the  alcohol-vender.  For  it  is 
upon  your  place  of  traffic  that  they  now  look  with  as 
much  horror,  as  you  would  upon  the  spot  where  the 
wife  of  your  bosom  was  murdered.  Decorate  them  as 
you  please.  These  are  the  associations  with  which  the 
place  of  your  daily  business  is  connected  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  love  your  customers.  I might  charge  you 
still  farther  in  summing  up  before  a jury  entertaining 
the  common  sentiments  of  justice  and  humanity.  The 
disgrace  of  numerous  friends,  the  wretchedness  of  un- 
pitied. unrelieved  poverty,  the  destruction  of  kindly 
feelings, — all  mark  the  success  of  your  business.  Un- 
der your  influence,  the  father  loses  the  character  of 
counsellor,  supporter,  companion,  patriarch,  priest,  and 
becomes  the  tormentor,  the  burden,  the  curse  of  those 
he  has  sworn  to  love  and  bless.  He  exerts  but  one 
24* 


282 


SERMON  X. 


kind  of  influence  steadily  on  his  children ; and  that  is, 
to  train  them  to  sin  and  misery. 

But  I stop.  The  detail  need  be  carried  no  farther. 
If  the  traffic  in  alcohol  is  murder,  and  that  of  the  most 
cruel  kind  : we  may  and  ought  to  inquire,  Who  will 
be  found  to  partake  of  its  guilt,  remotely  or  directly  ? 

WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

If  the  Temperance  societies  should  at  once  perfectly 
accomplish  the  objects  of  their  efforts,  there  would  be 
saved  to  this  nation,  millions  of  dollars  annually;  thirty 
thousand  lives  would  be  saved  and  added  to  the  strength 
and  the  happiness  of  this  nation:  and  wretchedness 
whose  amount  cannot  be  measured,  would  be  prevented. 
If  they  entirely  fail  during  this  year,  then  the  river  of 
burning  lava  will  roll  on  its  fiery  course.  On  its  scorch- 
ing bosom  will  still  be  seen,  writhing  in  protracted  ago- 
nies, three  hundred  thousand  human  beings  made  for 
holiness  and  happiness.  Thirty  or  forty  thousand  will 
plunge  into  endless  misery  this  year;  and  a larger 
number  in  the  next.  And  as  these  murdered  souls  rise 
to  the  bar  of  God,  he  will  make  inquisition  for  blood. 
On  whose  hands  will  it  be  found?  Remember  the 
principle  of  criminal  law  taken  from  the  law  of  God. 
If  an  ox  was  known  to  be  dangerous,  and  by  being 
turned  loose,  destroyed  life,  the  owner,  so  exposing  the 
life  of  others,  was  made  to  answer  for  it  with  his  own. 
Let  us  go  then  to  the  fountain-head.  Whence  flows 
the  river  of  death  ? Does  it  come,  like  the  beautiful 
Hudson,  from  fountains  which  God  has  made  ? No  ; 
the  little  rivulets  which  swell  its  tide,  are  made  by  man. 
God  never  made  a distillery.  And  he  never  made  al- 
cohol, but  in  the  process  of  vegetable  destruction.  It  is 
the  product  of  the  process  of  fermentation.  It  is  found 


INTOXICATING  L I Q,  U O R S . 


283 


naturally  in  the  vessels  of  no  living,  healthful  plant  or 
animal.  And  when  artificially  introduced  there,  it 
proves  its  origin.  Begotten  by  the  process  of  death,  it 
tends  directly  and  powerfully  to  death.  Why  do  not 
the  owners  of  distilleries  close  them  ? Because  the  love 
of  money  is  stronger  in  them  than  shame,  humanity,  or 
conscience.  Yea,  they  will  grasp  it,  though  they  know 
it  to  be  the  price  of  tears  and  blood,  though  it  be  wrung 
from  the  hard  earnings  of  the  poor,  and  is  the  last  de- 
pendence of  a famishing  family  ; provided  it  comes  to 
them  through  second  hands,  and  they  see  not  the  misery 
they  cause.  Let  us  go  along  this  river  of  death,  and 
see  the  various  agencies  which  have  a guilty  connec- 
tion with  it. 

1.  The  Distiller ) Importer,  and  Vender.  They  keep 
this  fountain  full,  and  open  the  channels  through  which 
it  may  flow.  Every  maker  and  vender  must  admit  that 
drunkenness  is  a horrible  evil.  But  how  much  drunk- 
enness is  there  throughout  these  states  ? A gentleman 
in  this  state,  has  caused  a thorough  investigation  to  be 
made  lately  in  three  counties  in  a section  of  this  state, 
which  ranks  high  for  morality.  With  a population  of 
about  49,000,  there  are  upwards  of  21,000  who  drink, 
moderately,”  and  about  1900  drunkards  ; i.  e.  nearly 
one  half  are  tipplers,  or  occasional  drinkers,  and  one  in 
26  is  a drunkard.  Apply  that  proportion  to  the  whole 
Union,  and  we  have  500,000  drunkards.  Is  this  vice 
horrible  in  one  man — what  is  it  when  accumulated  and 
multiplied  in  half  a million  ? And  who  perpetrates  this 
guilt  and  wretchedness  ? Could  it  exist  if  you  would 
all  abandon  your  business,  and  other  men  have  too 
much  humanity  and  conscience  to  enter  it  ? 

But  the  maker  replies : ‘X  do  not  force  anyone  to  drink ; 


284 


SERMON  X. 


I make  it,  and  if  men  choose  to  kill  themselves  with  it, 
I am  no  more  responsible,  than  if  I manufactured  cor- 
rosive sublimate,  and  men  chose  to  drink  it.’  Here  I 
believe  is,  at  last,  the  most  satisfactory  reasoning  to  the 
manufacturer’s  mind.  But  it  is  only  one  of  the  speci- 
mens of  sophistry  by  which  men  quiet  a disturbed  con- 
science, without  doing  themselves  the  justice  to  reflect 
upon  it  soberly,  as  in  the  sight  of  their  final  Judge. 
They  make  alcohol  as  a beverage;  they  make  it, 
knowing  that  it  will  be  drank,  and  knowing  that  the 
appetite  for  it  is  the  life  of  their  business.  They  make 
it  to  be  drank,  just  as  truly  as  ever  men  make  pistols 
for  the  destruction  of  life,  or  counterfeit  money  for  cir- 
culation. If  they  make  it  for  the  arts  ; why  not  make 
it  in  the  form  of  pure  alcohol,  in  which  it  is  needed  in 
the  arts ; why  color  it  for  the  eye  and  drug  it  for  the 
taste  ? The  plea  is  insincere.  If  there  be  in  the  manu- 
facturer’s heart  a prayer,  which  never  was  framed  into 
words,  it  is, — ‘ Let  men  get  an  increasing  appetite  for 
ardent  spirits  ; this  I desire  just  as  earnestly  as  I desire 
the  comfort  and  respectability  of  myself  and  family.’ 
And  he  doubtless  often  feels  secure,  because  he  sells  to 
venders  and  not  to  drinkers.  Just  as  secure  is  he  from 
the  piercing  eye  of  Justice,  and  from  her  dreadful  sen- 
tence, as  is  the  maker  of  counterfeit  money.  He  never 
cheats  any  person.  He  sells  to  men  who  know  the 
nature  of  the  article.  If  they  choose  to  injure  the  com- 
munity, he,  poor  innocent  man,  cannot  help  it.  He  is 
merely  making  an  honest  livelihood  by  selling  printed 
paper,  which  is  one  of  God’s  good  creatures.  This 
apology  has  often  satisfied  the  wholesale  vender.  But 
the  difference  is, — that  you  deal  out  death  by  the  hogs- 
head, your  neighbor  by  the  gill.  Your  beams  are  laid 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS, 


285 


in  blood  three  stories  high,  his  but  one.  The  apology 
of  the  retailer  we  have  sufficiently  examined.  We  see. 
then,  a flood  of  burning  lava  rolling  down  over  a lovely 
country,  laying  every  thing  waste  before  it.  The  dis- 
tillery is  the  volcano,  tended  by  the  respectable  distiller. 
The  wholesale  vender  digs  the  larger  channels,  and  the 
retailer  carries  it  home  over  the  lovely  little  garden  spots 
where  bloomed  the  sweetest  plants  of  domestic  happi- 
ness, and  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  living  God,  and 
around  the  very  altars  devoted  to  holiness.  Yea,  they 
have  carried  it  up  into  the  sacred  desk ; and  even  there, 
the  mighty  have  fallen.  Who  furnished  it  to  the  man, 
who,  in  this  ward,  last  year,  knocked  another  in  the 
head  and  killed  him  ? Who  furnished  it  to  the  Captain 
of  the  Rothsay  Castle,  when  he  madly  drove  his  steam- 
boat on  the  shoals,  and  destroyed  two  hundred  precious 
lives  ? ‘ Oh  P exclaimed  a man,  who  had  made  much 

money  in  the  traffic,  as  he  looked  around  from  his  store 
upon  the  once  thrifty  farmers,  who  had  been  brought 
to  ruin  by  trading  with  him, — ‘ Oh  P it  is  a horrible  bu- 
siness.’ I stand  and  look  at  a distillery  ; at  the  hogs- 
head rolling  into  a wholesale  store ; at  the  barrel,  the 
jug,  taken  in  by  the  retailer.  I ask  the  physician  ; — 
‘ What  is  the  nature  of  that  substance,  and  its  effects  if 
men  drink  it  ?’  I ask  the  police  magistrate,  the  judge, 
the  man  of  observation,  the  wife.  One  clear  loud  voice 
answers ; 1 Poison— poison — the  deadliest,  cruelest  poi- 
son.’ It  kills  both  body  and  soul,  and  creates  all  around 
it  an  atmosphere  of  death.  Look  at  that  decorated  bar- 
room. Its  gilding  is  the  mask  of  the  assassin.  Look 
at  that  smiling  bar-tender.  Can  he  be  so  ignorant  as 
not  to  know  what  a train  of  evils  he  is  setting  in  motion? 
Has  he  not  read,  nor  observed  ? He  has  laughed  at  the 


286 


SERMON  X. 


temperance  society.  Has  he  prepared  to  answer  his 
final  Judge? 

Do  I address  a manufacturer,  or  vender,  to-night  ? 
Have  I invaded  your  rights  ? Oh ! no,  you  are  the 
invader.  And  this  is  but  a feeble  attempt  to  throw  a 
wall  of  defence  around  the  rights  and  happiness  of  com- 
munity. Do  I appear  to  you  harsh  ? No.  It  cannot 
be  ; for  it  is  not  in  my  heart.  Believing  fully  the 
doctrine  of  this  discourse,  I must  feel  moral  disappro- 
bation. But  with  it  I feel  anxiety  and  distress  in  pros- 
pect of  your  final  account  and  retribution.  Facts  are 
stubborn  things.  And  I am  stating  but  a few  of  an 
innumerable  class,  and  those,  in  a manner  too  feeble 
fully  to  exhibit  the  wrong  that  you  are  doing,  and  the 
miseries  that  you  are  inflicting.  The  poor  unfortunate 
wretch,  who  bought  your  spirits,  and  committed  murder 
under  their  influence,  lies  in  prison,  waiting  the  day  of 
execution.  But  you  are  upheld  and  shielded  by  the  law 
to  make  more  murderers.  O that  day — that  dreadful 
day,  when  even-handed  justice  will  apportion  different- 
ly from  the  awardings  of  imperfect  man ! There  re- 
main for  you  but  two  alternatives.  Go  on  and  meet 
your  Judge.  We  will  use  no  other  force  against  you 
than  persuasion.  Resist  that ; die  a rum-vender,  and 
meet  your  customers  at  the  bar  of  God.  Or,  repent 
and  renounce  your  sin  ; make  all  the  reparation  to  God 
and  man  in  your  power,  and  apply  to  the  mediation  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  forgiveness. 

Another  class  share  in  this  guilt. 

2.  Those  who  license  the  traffic.  It  is,  surely,  but  a 
plain  inference  of  common  sense,  that  licensing  this 
traffic  in  the  present  state  of  things,  is  licensing  all  the 
crime  which  results  from  it.  In  other  words,  our  mu- 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


287 


nicipal  officers  and  commissioners  of  excise  license  men 
to  commit  murder  by  poison ; to  dishonor  God  and  de- 
stroy man.  What  is  the  effect  on  the  vender  of  every 
license  you  dispense  ? It  shields  his  conscience  from 
the  perception  of  his  guilt.  It  stands  in  the  way  of  that 
holy,  searching,  murder-forbidding  law  of  God,  which 
would  drive  him  to  despair  or  repentance.  Rum- 
venders  want  generally  no  better  shield  against  the  law 
of  God,  than  the  license  which  they  have  received  from 
a civil  officer,  and  for  which  they  have  paid.  It  pre- 
vents public  sentiment,  however  powerful,  from  reaching 
them.  Why,  they  say,  ‘ These  are  fanatics,  that  would 
interfere  with  our  lawful  business.5  Yes,  you  make  it 
lawful  for  them  to  continue  and  multiply  the  murder 
ous  traffic.  The  license  stands  right  in  the  way  of  one 
of  the  noblest  reformations  of  the  age  ; one  which,  most 
deeply  of  all,  involves  the  best  interests  of  our  country. 
Would  you  believe  that  you  were  doing  right , even  if 
appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the  governor,  to  license 
piracy,  counterfeiting,  or  murder  by  arsenic  ? If  not, 
where  is  the  moral  right  of  licensing  murder  by  alco- 
hol ? u Thou  shalt  not  kill,55  neither  as  principal,  nor 
as  accessory.  You  say, — c I am  appointed  to  execute 
the  law.5  You  ought  not  to  accept  an  office  which 
requires  you  to  do  a moral  wrong.  But  the  law  does 
not  require  you  to  license  a single  individual.  The 
law  restrains  you  from  doing  it,  unless  you  have  evi- 
dence that  the  public  good  demands  it  in  every  indi- 
vidual case.  If  the  licensing  officer  is  under  oath,  and 
if  he  is  required  to  obtain  under  oath,  the  declaration 
that  the  public  good  demands  every  rum-selling  estab- 
lishment which  is  licensed,  then  I fearlessly  assert  that 
there  is  not  only  murder,  but  what  God  will  consider 


288 


SERMON  X. 


perjury  somewhere ; when,  in  a city  like  Albany,  in 
every  twelfth  house  rum  is  sold  for  the  public  good. 
Is  the  multitude  of  rookeries  in  our  city,  which  contain 
a jug,  bottle,  and  glass,  where  nothing  but  rum  is  sold, 
really  licensed  by  men  who  have  sworn  only  to  consult 
the  public  accommodation  in  such  licenses?  Did  I 
believe  that  our  licensing  officers  were  ignorant,  I would 
appeal  on  a different  ground.  But  they  are  not.  They 
are  men  of  sense  and  observation.  And  I am  unable 
to  account  for  their  conduct  in  this  matter,  but  by  sup- 
posing that  they  dare  not  offend  the  many  who  are 
interested  in  the  traffic.  And  if  this  be  really  so,  I 
exhort  them  as  honest  men  to  resign  their  office.  I say, 
as  honest  men.  The  public  appoint  them  as  guardians 
of  the  public  welfare.  But  when  a strong  band  of  mur- 
derers rises  up  and  threatens  vengeance,  they  dare  not 
meet  them.  Give  us  commanders  that  dare  defend  us. 
I would  no  more  dare  to  license  a man  to  sell  ardent 
spirits  in  this  city,  than  I would  dare  to  be  an  accessory 
in  any  other  way,  to  every  crime  committed  under  its 
influence.  Those  who  do  it,  with  their  present  light, 
violate  the  sixth  commandment. 

Intimately  connected  with  this,  is  the  guilt  of — 

3.  Legislators . It  is  not  out  of  my  prcr  ince,  per- 
haps, now  to  remind  this  respected  class  of  our  citizens, 
that  their  station  gives  them  influence,  for  the  uses  and 
practical  results  of  which,  God  holds  them  responsible. 
They  must  pass  another  and  purer  ordeal  than  public 
sentiment.  We  have  no  complaint  to  make  of  past 
legislation  on  this  subject.  It  was  manifestly  designed 
for  the  public  good;  and  has  already  outrun  public 
sentiment.  On  the  licensing  officers  rests  the  heaviest 
portion  of  this  guilt.  Men  of  very  bad  character  are 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS, 


289 


engaged  in  the  traffic,  contrary  to  law.  Minors  and 
apprentices  are  permitted  to  buy  and  drink  without  the 
consent  of  guardians,  contrary  to  law.  Bad  conduct  is 
permitted  in  these  drinking  places,  notwithstanding  the 
law  has  required  recognisance  and  securities  for  keep- 
ing an  orderly  house.  This  the  legislator  has  honestly 
tried  to  prevent.  He  has  tried  to  prevent  the  common 
tippling  in  groceries,  by  requiring  the  vender  to  swear, 
that  he  keeps  a tavern  expressly  for  the  accommodation 
of  travellers.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  that  the 
existing  laws  were  made  in  days  of  such  darkness,  that 
the  best  men  did  not  hesitate  to  engage  in  the  traffic. 

But  a day  of  light  has  come.  It  is  not  boasting  to 
say  it — we  have  light  on  this  subject,  which  imposes 
new  duties  on  all  classes.  It  is  chemical  light,  phy- 
siological light,  moral  light.  By  its  clear  shining,  we 
are  enabled  to  see  one  portion  of  the  community  prey- 
ing upon  the  wealth,  and  health,  and  life  of  the  other. 
We  now  see  the  injustice  of  raising  a revenue  from  a 
business,  which  makes  the  non- vending  part  of  com- 
munity pay,  in  the  form  of  street  begging,  poor  and 
criminal  tax,  more  than  twice  the  revenue  without  any 
pecuniary  profit,  but  with  incalculable  moral  loss.  We 
now  see,  that  in  the  very  requirement  of  recognisances 
for  good  conduct,  lies  the  admission  of  such  a natural 
fraternity  between  the  traffic  and  bad  conduct,  that  they 
must  require  of  him,  what  is  required  of  no  other  mer- 
chant, that  he  does  not,  in  the  pursuit  of  his  lawful 
business,  allow  that  unlawful  conduct  which  directly 
results  from  it.  We  see  by  the  light  of  this  day,  that 
legislation  of  a more  decisive  character  is  required.  It 

is,  TO  MAKE  THE  TRAFFIC  A CRIME  BY  LAW. 

And  why  cannot  the  traffic  in  certain  specified  forms 
25 


290 


SERMON  X. 


of  alcohol  to  be  drank  on  the  premises  be  made  a penal 
offence  ? Because,  it  is  said,  so  many  respectable  men 
Avould  consider  it  an  unconstitutional  abridgment  ot 
their  privileges  of  drinking  in  taverns  and  stores,  that 
it  would  be  intolerably  offensive  to  one  part,  and  cun- 
ningly evaded  by  the  other.  If  this  reasoning  be  valid,  a 
Legislature  had  better  never  use  any  portion  of  its  in- 
fluence to  put  down  crime.  If  rum-selling  be  a crime, 
(and  upon  the  truth  of  that  position  is  based  all  the 
legitimacy  of  my  conclusions  and  the  propriety  of  my 
appeals,)  then  the  legislators,  as  the  constituted  moral 
barrier  between  the  state  and  those  destructive  vices 
which  lay  desolate  its  social  blessings,  are  bound  to  lay 
their  strongest  hand  on  this  crime.  And  so  long  as 
they  do  not,  they  are,  in  the  eye  of  pure  morality,  ac- 
cessories to  the  murders  and  other  crimes  involved 
essentially  in  the  traffic.  Where  is  the  moral  difference 
between  such  a course  and  the  suppression  of  lotteries  ? 
They  were  once  protected  by  law.  But  by  the  same 
power  you  have  crushed  them,  and  they  can  now  live 
only  by  skulking  and  hanging  out  false  signs.  Look 
at  your  power.  Stretch  out  your  wand  over  the  land 
like  Moses,  and  the  plague  will  be  stayed;  the  foun- 
tains of  blood  dried  Lip. 

In  view  of  these  truths,  let  me  ask,  what  is  the  duty 
of  the  Church  ? Where  should  she  be  found  on  this 
subject  ? Her  place  is  in  the  fore-front  of  every  moral 
reformation.  Neither  indolence  nor  cowardice  befits 
her  high  vocation.  The  temperance-reformation  is  a 
holy  enterprise.  It  was  commenced  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Bible,  and  its  holy  philanthropy,  after  the 
world  had  abandoned  the  hope  of  reform.  It  began  in 
the  Church.  Devoted  men  of  God  gave  it  the  first  im 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS, 


291- 


pulse.  They  discovered  the  grandest  principle  which 
ever  rewarded  the  toil  of  philosophers — that  total  absti- 
nence would  rid  the  world  of  its  direst  curse,  its  dead- 
liest plague,  whose  ravages  were  yearly  widening.  It 
was  begun  in  prayer ; and  I have  been  surprised  that 
Christians  could  doubt  the  propriety  of  praying  in  the 
public  meetings  connected  with  this  subject.  Cease  to 
associate  prayer  with  it,  let  it  swing  off  to  the  low 
grounds  of  expediency  and  political  economy,  and  the 
cause  inevitably  runs  down.  We  owe  all  our  success 
to  the  smiles  of  God.  Still  and  perpetually  let  the 
Church  seek  their  continuance.  The  Church  is  bound 
by  all  her  vows  and  professions,  by  her  covenant  obli- 
gations, by  her  duty  to  man  and  to  the  cause  of  virtue, 
to  sustain  every  society  which  seeks  to  reform  the  com- 
munity by  proper  means.  There  are  several  ways  by 
which  she  may  act,  in  her  appropriate  sphere,  in  ac- 
complishing this  work. 

1.  By  preaching.  It  is  the  duty  of  her  ministers, 
to  exhibit  this  subject  in  the  light  of  the  Bible  and 
eternity.  If  it  involved  a mere  question  of  political 
economy,  affecting  the  national  industry  and  wealth  ; 
if  it  were  a merely  medical  question  of  the  healthful- 
ness or  unhealthfulness  of  a certain  substance,  then  it 
would  not  come  specifically  within  the  scope  of  the 
gospel  preacher.  But  if  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  li- 
quors, and  their  use  as  a beverage,  are  sins,  and  enor- 
mous sins  ; if  the  souls  of  men  are  destroyed  by  this 
traffic ; if  its  success  and  extension  is  the  overthrow 
of  religion ; if  the  millennium  cannot  come  while  it 
flourishes ; then  must  the  ministers  of  Christ  sound 
the  notes  of  alarm.  They  must  give  a clear  and 
solemn  exhibition  of  the  guilt  and  the  everlasting  con- 


292 


SERMON  X. 


sequences  connected  with  these  practices.  In  fact,  I 
see  not  how  we  may  expect  the  discontinuance  of  a 
traffic  in  which  so  many  are  interested,  unless  the 
public  mind  is  led  to  contemplate  it  strongly  in  its 
everlasting  consequences  to  drinkers  and  venders. 

I know  that  we  often  hear  remarks  about  going  too 
fast  for  public  sentiment.  And  I would,  that  there 
were  as  much  time  as  we  have  now  occupied  to  discuss 
that  point  in  this  connection.  There  is  a plausible,  ex- 
tensive and  mischief- working  error  concerning  it.  Let 
me  ask  a question : — Should  ministers  in  preaching, 
follow  public  sentiment,  keep  pace  with  it,  or  lead  and 
reform  it?  If  a minister  tells  the  people  what  they 
knew  before,  he  may  refresh  their  memories ; but  he 
cannot  instruct  them  as  a scribe  who  brings  forth 
“ things  new  and  old.”  If  he  tells  the  people,  that  those 
things  are  wrong,  which  they  knew  to  be  wrong  before 
he  told  them ; he  will  not  offend  them  indeed,  nor  incur 
the  charge  of  fanaticism.  But  will  he  do  them  any 
good  ? If  public  sentiment  is  ignorant,  who  is  to  en- 
lighten it  ? If  it  is  wrong,  who  is  to  rectify  it  ? Is  it 
not  the  very  business  of  the  prophets  of  the  Lord,  the 
teachers  of  morality  and  religion?  Must  they  not 
show  the  people,  that  many  things  which  they  received 
from  their  fathers,  and  which  are  now  fashionable  and 
much  admired,  are  nevertheless  wicked  ? Or  must  they 
always  wait  until  the  people  find  out  from  some  other 
source  what  is  right,  and  what  wrong?  So  did  not 
Enoch,  nor  Lot,  nor  Jeremiah,  nor  John,  nor  our  Re- 
deemer. Public  sentiment  was  altogether  wrong  on 
many  important  points  in  morals  ; yes,  and  it  was  de- 
fended on  those  very  points  by  reference  to  the  Bible, 
but  our  Savior  plainly  instructed  and  solemnly  rebuked 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


293 


them.  To  be  sure,  it  did  not  much  increase  his  popu- 
larity. Nor  could  it,  in  the  nature  of  the  case.  To 
oppose  what  is  popular,  must  be  unpopular.  But  his 
satisfaction  was  found  in  purifying  the  moral  atmos- 
phere, and  in  saving  millions  then  unborn  from  error, 
sin,  and  eternal  ruin.  If  these  principles  be  correct, 
we  shall  benefit  you  and  the  cause  of  temperance  but 
little,  if  our  discourses,  snail-paced  and  cowardly,  creep 
up  only  as  high  as  public  sentiment  has  reached.  It 
is  our  duty  to  gaze  into  eternity,  and  borrow  the  light 
of  that  day,  when  the  pleadings  of  custom  and  appetite 
and  interest  will  not  be  heard ; but  truth — clear,  simple, 
eternal  truth — will  try  every  man’s  work  and  character, 
and  fix  his  destiny.  And  if  any  reproaches  must  come 
on  any  class  of  men  for  advocating  truth,  let  the  leaders 
receive  the  first  charge. 

The  Church  must  sustain  it  by — 

2.  Her  practice . Theory,  however  correct,  will  not 
move  the  world,  if  those  who  advocate  it  contradict  it 
by  their  practice.  If  the  traffic  is  murder,  how  can 
church  members  continue  to  buy  and  sell  it  ? I only 
ask  the  conscience  of  the  Church,  and  the  common 
sense  of  the  world.  If  the  Church  is  the  light  of  the 
world,  what  kind  of  light  does  that  member  hold  out 
who  sells  alcohol?  The  light  of  an  ignis  fatuus,  that 
shines  to  decoy  and  destroy.  The  point  is  settled,  that 
so  long  as  religion  is  respected,  the  world  will  not  rise 
above  the  Church  in  morals.  One  professor  of  religion, 
who  is  consistent  in  other  respects,  by  continuing  to 
vend  this  poison,  may  quiet  the  conscience  and  harden 
the  heart  of  fifty  others  in  a city  like  this,  and  be  an 
effectual  shield  to  guard  them  from  the  truth.  “ Nei- 
25* 


294 


SERMON  X. 


ther  be  partaker  of  other  men’s  sins.”  The  Church  is 
bound — 

3.  To  purify  herself  Is  it  a murderous  traffic  ; or 
is  it  immoral  even  on  any  other  ground  ? then  how  can 
any  Christian  church  admit  to  its  bosom  and  welcome 
as  a faithful,  obedient  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  one  who 
continues  in  it  ? As  a pastor,  I could  not  welcome  such 
a person  to  our  communion  and  Christian  fellowship. 
This  has  been  viewed  as  very  high  and  untenable 
ground.  I cannot  see,  one  inch  below  it,  a footing  for 
consistency ; I shall  be  thankful,  if  it  be  there,  to  find 
it.  If  there  be  a vender  in  the  bosom  of  your  church, 
labor  with  him  in  love,  pray  for  him,  weep  over  him ; 
but  O ! leave  him  not  until  he  has  abandoned  the  cruel, 
guilty  traffic.  If  he  does  not,  see  where  he  will  stand 
in  the  judgment  day.  Jesus  Christ  will  arraign  a poor 
trembling  culprit,  and  say  to  him,  “ I was  sick  and  in 
prison  and  hungry  ; and  your  crime  is,  that  you  neither 
visited  nor  fed  me.”  Lord,  when  ? he  inquires.  “ In 
that  poor  creature,  and  that.  Depart  therefore  accursed, 
into  everlasting  fire.”  Then  he  will  turn  to  this  ven- 
der, and  say,  “ Come,  blessed  of  my  Father ; for  I was 
sick  and  you  visited,  hungry  and  you  fed  me.”  When? 
he  inquires.  Jesus  points  to  the  same  as  before.  What 
will  the  condemned  wretch  think  of  justice,  when  he 
recognises  in  those  very  beings  those  whom  this  church 
member  had  made  drunkards ; whose  drunkenness 
caused  their  sickness,  imprisonment,  and  hunger?  The 
crime  of  one  was,  he  had  not  attended  to  them  after 
they  were  sick  and  hungry.  But  the  virtue  of  the 
other  was,  that  he  not  only  had  not  regarded  their 
wretchedness  after  it  existed,  but  was  the  grand  volim- 


INTOXICATING  LIQUORS. 


295 


tary,  selfish  author  of  it  all,  in  the  midst  of  light  and 
rebukes ! Oh  ! tell  it  not  in  Gath,  that  such  are  the 
hopes  of  Christians ! 

Vender  of  alcohol — go  home,  and  write  upon  every 
vessel  containing  this  substance,  “ Thou  shalt  not  kill.” 
And  may  the  finger  of  God  write  on  your  heart — “ No 
murderer  hath  eternal  life  abiding  in  him.” 


SERMON  XL 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


u I have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear  that  my  children 
walk  in  truth” — 3 John  4. 

John  was  a venerable  Christian  Pastor ; and  when 
we  use  his  language  as  expressive  of  our  feelings,  we 
do  it  with  an  humbling  consciousness  of  unworthiness. 
Yet  I think  that  I can  adopt  this  language  with  much 
sincerity,  concerning  a church,  over  which  I have 
watched,  and  wept,  and  prayed.  The  end  of  a pastor’s 
labors  and  desires  is,  to  lead  his  flock  to  walk  in  the 
truth.  Desiring  to  condense  my  ministry,  as  it  were, 
into  one  closing  discourse,  I adopt  this  sentence,  with 
the  hope  that  it  will  be  brought  afresh  to  your  memo- 
ry, whenever  you  think  of  me, — “ I have  no  greater 
joy  than  to  hear  that  my  children  walk  in  truth.” 

TO  WALK  IN  TRUTH. 

It  is  a beautiful  idea.  Pilate  once  asked,  « What  is 
truth  ?”  Had  he  waited  for  an  answer,  he  might  have 
heard  it  sublimely  said,  “ I am  Truth  !”  Oh ! had 
he,  for  a moment,  laid  aside  the  judge  and  become  the 
child,  his  dark  and  wandering  soul  might  have  seen 
the  dawning  of  a new  and  eternal  day.  What  is  truth? 


298 


SERMON  XI. 


Things  as  they  are,  things  as  God  apprehends  them, 
facts,  eternal  realities. — Where  is  truth  ? It  used  to  be 
written  all  over  the  heavens.  The  earth  was  a rich 
volume,  inscribed  with  truth  on  its  ever  varying  pages. 
The  heart  of  man  was  instinct  with  truth.  But  the 
heavens  are  now  covered  with  sackcloth.  The  eye  of 
love  no  longer  reads  the  mystic  characters  written  on 
every  wonderful  and  beautiful  object.  The  heart  of 
man  is  perverted.  He  has  come  to  hate  the  light  and 
the  truth.  His  philosophy,  which  can  do  nothing  more 
than  classify  known  facts,  and  conjecture  unknown  ex- 
istence, can  never  teach  him.  God  must  teach  him  in 
plain,  unequivocal  language.  God  must  teach  him 
authoritatively  ; because  the  truth  is  often  unwelcome. 
God  must  identify  his  instructions  with  signs  and  won- 
ders. Once  this  was  not  necessary.  Then  the  heart 
of  man  was  true  to  the  voice  of  God.  It  then  needed 
no  stupendous  miracle  to  say  to  man — this  is  your 
Father  and  your  God : hear  him.  But  now  the  mes- 
sage must  come  from  him,  accompanied  by  strong  and 
indisputable  credentials.  Where  is  truth ? In  Jesus; — 
“ I am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life.”  It  is  in 
Jesus  and  his  word.  “ Art  thou  a king  then  ?”  asked 
Pilate.  “ To  this  end  was  I born,  and  for  this  cause 
came  I into  the  world,  that  I should  bear  witness  unto 
the  truth  .”  “ No  man  hath  seen  God,”  said  this  great 
witness,  “at  any  time;”  no  philosopher,  no  son  of 
science,  no  student  of  the  stars,  no  deep  observer  of  man. 
These  have  boasted  of  light,  but  they  have  groped  in 
darkness.  They  have  not  seen  God.  His  character, 
and  his  government,  and  his  purposes,  they  have  not 
discovered.  O ! my  children  ! if  I were  leaving  you  to 
the  cold  instructions  of  philosophy  and  science,  my 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


299 


heart  would  sink  within  me.  I should  not  expect  to 
meet  you  forgiven,  sanctified,  glorified,  in  the  land  of 
spirits.  But  ye  have  heard  the  voice  of  the  only  be- 
gotten Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father.  And 
his  word  is  quick  and  powerful.  You  have  heard  it  in 
your  grave  of  sin  ; it  has  quickened  you  into  life  spirit- 
ual, and  will  raise  you  by  a second  resurrection,  to  life 
eternal. 

Let  me  explain  the  text.  John  was  the  honored  in- 
strument of  converting  many  from  the  error  of  their 
ways.  He  thus  became  their  spiritual  instructor.  In 
this  relation,  he  uses  the  language  of  these  epistles,  and 
calls  them,  children  ; some  of  them,  perhaps,  his  seniors 
in  age.  There  were  two  classes  of  error  to  which  he 
saw  them  exposed ; — the  errors  of  religion  and  those  of 
irreligion ; the  one  consisting  in  the  perversions  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  other  in  an  utter  disregard  of  them 
as  untrue  or  unimportant.  The  world  has  its  errors, 
and  the  Church  has  hers.  The  holy  and  benevolent 
anxiety  of  this  patriarch  was,  that  his  children  should 
shun  them  both,  and  walk  in  the  truth  ; that  their  minds 
should  be  enlightened,  their  hearts  animated,  and  their 
steps  directed  by  the  truth.  In  his  absence,  in  his  ban- 
ishment, nothing  could  cheer  his  heart  but  to  hear  this 
concerning  them.  They  must  walk  in  truth. 

Is  the  Bible  unkindly  severe?  is  it  unjust,  and  does 
it  aim  to  make  us  unsocial,  when  it  says,  “ The  whole 
world  lieth  in  wickedness  “ the  friendship  of  the 
world  is  enmity  with  God  ?” — meaning  by  the  world, 
the  uncontroverted.  Is  it  unkind  and  unjust  when  it 
cautions  Christians  against  their  influence,  because  they 
are  deceived  and  deluded  ? “ The  god  of  this  world 

hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not.”  But 


300 


SE  RMON  XI, 


have  not  Christians  escaped  beyond  the  circle  of  that 
influence  ? Not  so  long  as  they  are  social  beings,  with 
an  imperfect  character,  surrounded  by  unbelieving 
friends.  The  world  is  in  error,  deep,  practical,  de- 
structive error.  With  some  it  is  an  error  of  theory. 
With  all  it  is  an  error  of  the  heart.  It  is  painful  to  see 
them  walking  in  the  deceitfulness  of  their  own  imagin- 
ings, to  be  amused,  to  be  cheered  and  flattered,  until 
they  awake  amid  the  disappointments  of  another  world. 
The  Church  must  see  that  the  world  is  in  darkness 
and  error,  and  must  show  them  their  path.  And  it  is 
the  more  needful  to  caution  you  on  this  point,  because 
the  most  dangerous  errors  of  worldly  men  are  not  put 
in  the  form  of  distinct  propositions ; but  they  come  in- 
sidiously and  powerfully  instilled  into  your  very  heart, 
through  every  channel  of  social  feeling.— The  errors 
of  the  world  come  commended  and  palliated  by  the 
fascinations  of  wealth,  rank,  talent,  refinement,  station 
and  friendship.  You  do  not  hear  them  proclaim,  there 
is  no  God,  no  heaven,  no  hell ; but  it  is  proclaimed  in 
every  plan,  every  sentence,  every  tone,  every  step.  1 
wish  to  be  understood : there  is  a powerful  and  insidi- 
ous influence  from  the  world,  which  will  induce  you 
to  walk  by  sight,  and  not  by  faith,  unless  greatly  watch- 
ful. I will  mention  some  of  their  errors. 

I.  They  are  in  fatal  error  on  the  subject  of  Happi- 
ness. 

No  reference  is  here  made  to  their  theories  \ but  I 
speak  of  those  practical  views  which  control  their 
hearts  and  conduct.  This  point  admits  of  illustration. 

1.  They  seek  the  transient  gratifications  of  a day , 
because  they  esteem  them  more  important  than  their 
everlasting  welfare  in  an  immortal  state.  Show  me 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


301 


two  men  who  act  as  if  they  had  immortal  souls  one 
hour  after  they  have  left  the  worship  of  God ; and  I 
will  show  you  ten  who  act  as  if  man’s  interest  were 
concentrated  here.  They  do  not  walk  in  truth.  For 
it  is  true  that  we  are  immortal — it  is  true  that  the  in- 
terests of  time  are  as  a feather  in  the  scale  against  the 
vast  interests  of  our  ever-enduring  souls.  It  is  true, 
that  present  happiness  is  a cheap  sacrifice  if  its  abandon- 
ment be  connected  with  the  blessings  of  eternity.  Yes, 
the  world,  the  intelligent  world,  the  learned,  the  mighty, 
the  high,  the  low,  the  bond  and  free,  despise  the  crown, 
the  harp,  the  song,  the  society,  the  joy  of  heaven,  be- 
cause the  pursuit  of  them  would  interfere  with  some 
fleeting,  selfish  duty.  It  is  true,  that  the  world  shrink 
from  the  pain,  the  shame  of  a day  ; but  they  rush  into 
the  shame  and  agony  of  eternal  damnation. — Here  is 
error  and  delusion,  just  as  ruinous  as  avowed  infidelity. 
It  is  sympathy  with  these  errors,  and  falling  in  with 
this  current,  that  cause  the  distressing  backslidings  in 
the  Church.  It  is  error  which  you  can  scarcely  com- 
bat with  reason ; for  none  defend  it.  But  this  only 
makes  it  the  more  dangerous.  To  walk  in  truth,  is  to 
walk  on  earth  in  the  light  of  heaven,  to  be  directed 
through  time’s  darkness  by  the  beams  of  eternal  day. 

2.  Another  mistake  about  Happiness  is , — They 
know  not  in  what  it  consists. 

Happiness  is  found  in  the  favor  of  God — misery  in 
his  frown.  The  world  deny  it.  They  seek  happi- 
ness in  the  smiles  of  popular  favor.  They  chase  the 
approbation  of  erring  man,  and  turn  away  from  the 
smile  of  God.  They  dread  the  contempt  and  the  wrath 
of  man.  But  they  have  no  fear  of  God’s  indignation, 
no  dread  of  his  contempt.  This  is  not  truth,  my 

26 


302 


SERMON  XI. 


fellow-men ! This  is  not  regarding  things  as  they  are. 
And  one  hour  of  bliss  under  the  smile  of  God  before 
his  throne,  or  of  agony  beneath  his  executed  curse? 
would  give  a demonstration  such  as  words  cannot 
furnish.  There  is  a luxury  in  the  tears  of  penitence  ; 
there  is  peace  and  joy  in  believing.  Sometimes  it  is 
a foretaste  of  heaven  to  be  in  a social  circle  of  pray- 
ing friends.  But  the  world  knows  nothing,  practically 
believes  nothing,  of  this.  My  sorrow  will  be,  when  I 
hear  that  my  children  come  under  this  influence ; my 
joy  will  be  enlarged  when  I hear  that  they  walk  in 
truth ; that  they  are  not  looking  for  happiness  where 
the  world  seek  it ; for  I shall  know,  that,  if  they  do,  they 
are  sowing  the  wind,  and  must  reap  the  whirlwind. 
Truth,  and  truth  alone,  will  endure  the  test  of  time. 
For  a season,  it  may  seem  to  the  superficial  observer 
that  the  world  is  right ; but  the  magic  spell  must  be 
broken ; the  frost-work  must  melt  away. 

3.  The  world  overrate  Happiness. 

There  is  something  more  important  than  present 
happiness.  It  is  character — not  reputation,  but  char- 
acter ; and  there  is  no  excellence  of  character  but  holi- 
ness. Believe  it ; — it  is  more  important  that  you  be 
holy,  than  that  you  be  happy  ; or  rather,  since  holiness 
ensures  happiness,  I would  say, — it  is  more  important 
that  you  deny  yourself,  in  order  to  obtain  perfect  holi- 
ness, than  that  you  have  any  degree  of  present  happi- 
ness. It  is  not  according  to  truth,  to  live  in  such  a 
contracted  sphere  of  selfish  desires  and  grovelling 
motives  as  actuate  a wordly  heart.  Man  was  made  for 
virtue  and  benevolence.  He  is  placed  and  preserved 
here  to  train  himself  for  heaven,  under  the  sweet  in- 
fluences of  the  gospel  and  grace  of  Jesus  Christ. 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


303 


II.  Another  error  of  the  world  is, — They  underrate 
excellence. 

Their  admiration  is  carried  away  with  superficial 
and  even  unholy  traits  of  character  in  man.  But  the 
oflorious  excellence  of  God — the  transcendent  loveli- 
ness of  Jesus  Christ,  they  do  not  value  ; and  where 
some  faint  reflection  of  the  beams  of  that  loveliness  is 
seen  in  the  regenerated,  they  do  not  admire  it.  But 
here  is  truth.  God  is  amiable  and  glorious — the  vision 
of  Jesus7  charms  is  ravishing.  Were  you  out  of  this 
dark,  smoky,  sin-blinded  world,  were  you  among  the 
sons  of  light,  the  tall  hierarchies  of  heaven,  had  you 
wings  to  soar  and  mount  on  high,  you  would  realize 
it.  But  the  world  walketh  in  a vain  show. 

III.  They  adopt  false  principles. 

I will  select  but  one  of  these  for  illustration ; what 
is  popular  is  right — what  is  unpopular  is  wrong. — It  is 
a doctrine,  which  would  for  ever  confirm  the  empire 
of  the  arch  deceiver  over  mankind.  It  is  the  doctrine, 
by  which  Luther  was  met,  and  by  which  he  was  ranked 
an  ultraist.  It  met  Jesus  Christ  in  his  labors  as  a re- 
former. He  was  ahead  of  public  sentiment.  His  doc- 
trine was  unpopular,  therefore  it  was  wrong ; its  pro- 
mulgation agitated  the  community  and  drew  down  the 
indignation  of  the  great  conductors  of  public  senti- 
ment ; therefore  it  was  wrong.  This  is  not  truth,  and 
may  the  Church  never  walk  in  it. 

There  are  errors  in  the  Church  too  ; I do  not  mean 
those  fundamental  heresies  which  sap  the  very  vital 
principle  of  religion : but  I refer  to  errors  which  seri- 
ously retard  the  progress  of  personal  piety,  and  enervate 
the  arm  of  her  power.  There  may  yet  come  in  among 
you  those  who  will  bring  damnable  heresies.  But  as 


304 


SERMON  XI. 


I do  not  see  from  what,  quarter  the  attack  will  arise,  nor 
in  what  form  the  enemy  will  come,  that  must  be  com- 
mitted to  the  Great  Shepherd. 

The  practical  errors  of  the  Church  to  which  I refer, 
are — 

1.  Extravagant  views  of  human  depravity  and 
inability . 

By  these,  man  has  been  turned  into  a machine,  and 
his  responsibility  virtually  denied,  and  his  sense  of  obli- 
gation paralyzed.  On  this  subject  it  may  suffice  now 
to  say,  that  the  Bible  and  human  consciousness  corres- 
pond. The  Bible  exhibits  man  as  deeply  depraved, 
and  yet  as  totally  inexcusable  for  his  past  and  present 
wickedness,  and  fully  responsible  to  do  his  duty  im- 
mediately and  for  ever.  To  this  the  consciousness 
and  the  observation  of  mankind  respond.  The  heart 
of  man  is  depraved.  There  is  no  question  of  its  deep 
depravity.  But  the  depravity  of  his  heart  has  not 
taken  away  his  power  to  do  what  God  now  requires 
of  him;  else  the  foundations  of  responsibility  are  de- 
stroyed, and  man  would  only  have  to  do  wrong  to 
make  it  impossible  that  he  should  be  any  longer  under 
obligations  to  do  right.  In  the  language  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Confession  of  Faith  : u God  hath  endued  the 
will  of  man  with  that  natural  liberty,  that  it  is  neither 
forced,  nor  by  any  absolute  necessity  of  nature,  deter- 
mined to  good  or  evil.”  And  to  fortify  this  senti- 
ment, their  well-chosen  proof-text  is  the  address  of 
Joshua  to  the  Israelites — “ I call  heaven  and  earth  to 
record  this  day  against  you,  that  I have  set  before  you 
life  and  death,  blessing  and  cursing ; therefore  choose 
life,  that  both  thou  and  thy  seed  may  live.”  The  fall 
perverted,  but  did  not  destroy  the  free  agency  of  man; 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


305 


perverted  the  use  of  his  powers  in  action,  but  did  not 
destroy  the  existence  of  those  powers  which  distinguish 
man  as  a subject  of  moral  government,  from  animals, 
and  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  obligation. 

It  is  a truth,  then,  which  you  must  hold,  if  you 
would  vindicate  the  justice  of  Jehovah’s  government, 
that  he  exacts  of  his  creatures  that  which  they  have 
the  native  powers  to  perform,  while  there  is  such  an 
utter,  certain,  and  desperate  aversion  of  disposition 
and  will  to  it,  as  to  make  the  interference  and  con- 
stant agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  indispensable.  Thus 
is  the  justice  of  God  vindicated,  while  the  pride  and 
self-sufficiency  of  man  are  brought  low,  and  the  Church 
brought  to  feel  the  need  of  the  Spirit’s  agency. 

2.  The  Church  entertain  extravagant  views  of  the 
sovereignty  of  God . 

There  is  a strong  inclination  to  refer  the  religious 
interests  of  man  to  God,  in  a way  which  would  appear 
to  them  perfectly  absurd,  if  applied  to  the  common 
affairs  of  life.  It  is  true  in  the  spiritual  world,  that 
Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos  water,  but  God  must  give 
the  increase.  But  it  is  equally  true  in  the  natural 
world.  Now  the  error  we  speak  of,  is — to  omit  the 
most  earnest  and  skilful  employment  of  means  adapted 
to  the  end,  in  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  because  we 
depend  on  God  for  success.  So  did  not  Paul,  the 
unwearied  missionary.  The  error  is, — to  rest  satisfied 
when  the  Church  is  cold,  and  sinners  are  going  care- 
lessly to  perdition  ; and  to  attribute  it  to  the  sovereignty 
and  the  purposes  of  God.  That  is  practical  heresy, 
which  makes  the  Church  weak  in  her  opposition  to 
the  prince  of  darkness.  This  error  shows  itself  in  the 
manner  of  directing  sinners.  They  are  often  told, 
26* 


306 


SERMON  XI. 


not  to  do  what  God  requires  them  to  do.  but  to  do 
something  else  in  order  to  obtain  the  power  to  do  what 
God  requires.  It  is  supposed  that  the  sinner  has  power 
to  pray  acceptably  without  the  Spirit,  to  plead  without 
faith,  without  repentance,  with  a proud,  selfish,  unsub- 
dued heart,  and  to  plead  successfully  for  the  Holy 
Spirit ; but  that  he  has  no  power  to  repent.  This,  my 
brethren  ! is  neither  rational  nor  scriptural.  So  did  not 
Paul,  nor  Peter.  Point  me  to  the  place  where  they 
urged  an  inquiring  sinner  to  pray  in  impenitence  and 
unbelief  for  grace  to  enable  him  to  repent ; where  did 
they  not  press  the  mind  directly  to  the  cross,  and  urge 
the  rebel  child  to  fly  with  penitential  sorrow  to  his 
father’s  feet  to  obtain  forgiveness— 

“ And  I consent  you  take  it  for  your  text, — 

Your  only  one, — till  sides  and  benches  fail.” 

This  error  has  still  another  pernicious  form.  It  is  in 
making  men  very  zealous  about  the  Spirit’s  agency ; 
but  not  warning  them,  nor  rousing  their  hearts  to  the 
exercise  of  frequent  and  fervent  prayer.  Now  it  is 
true,  that  we  are  dependent  on  the  Spirit  for  spiritual 
life.  It  is  true,  that  the  moral  waste  around  us  will 
never  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose,  unless  the  “ south 
wind”  blow  upon  it.  But  it  is  just  as  true,  that  the 
mere  belief  of  that,  neither  honors  nor  obtains  the  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  prayer,  secret  and 
social,  fervent,  faithful  and  frequent,  that  must  obtain 
them  for  self  and  others.  To  say  nothing  of  secret 
prayer,  how  often  ought  the  Church  to  be  assembled 
in  her  public  and  social  character  to  pray  for  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  order  to  put  becoming  honor  upon  his  blessed 
office  ? Let  the  eight  days’  prayer-meeting  of  the  apos- 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


307 


ties  give  us  some  general  direction,  if  not  definite  model. 
Prayer,  sincere,  humble  and  fervent,  honors  the  person 
and  office  of  the  Eternal  Spirit. 

3.  The  duty  of  the  Church  concerning  the  improve - 
ment  of  public  morals. 

The  Church  of  Christ  and  her  ministers  are  bound 
to  be  the  leaders  of  public  opinion  in  all  questions  of 
morality.  I admit  that  Christians  and  ministers  have 
the  entire  right  of  examining  every  proposed  improve- 
ment in  public  morals,  and  likewise  the  means  of 
affecting  that  improvement.  That  is,  they  are  account- 
able to  God,  and  not  to  man,  for  their  conclusions  on 
these  points  ; and  it  is  not  fair  uniformly  to  make  these 
opinions  tests  of  their  piety  or  their  infidelity.  But 
with  these  concessions,  I would  distinctly  assert  that 
the  business,  the  duty,  of  the  Church  and  her  ministry 
is,  to  rectify  a false  and  depraved  public  sentiment.  It 
is  the  business  of  the  ministry  to  take  for  granted,  that 
a world  lying  in  darkness  and  wickedness  has  a wrong 
standard  of  morality,  that  the  popular  customs  and 
maxims  of  society  stand  in  direct  hostility  to  the  law 
and  will  of  God,  then  to  point  out  to  the  world  how 
and  wherein  it  is  thus  wrong,  and  to  urge  it,  by  all  the 
tremendous  sanctions  of  God’s  word,  to  abandon  sin,  and 
seek  forgiveness.  So  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  and  Daniel 
and  Ezekiel  understood  their  commissions.  So  did 
John  the  Baptist.  So  did  Jesus  Christ  and  each  of  his 
apostles. 

Strange  that  it  should  be  a question,  whether  or  not 
we  should  oppose  actual  and  popular  sins  just  as  fast 
as  they  are  discovered  ! Why,  every  motive  of  love  to 
God  and  benevolence  to  man  urges  it.  And  yet  a large 
number  of  pious  men  tremble,  when  we  agitate  a wicked 


308 


SERMON  XI. 


world,  by  urging  it  to  abandon  some  fashionable  and 
deep-rooted  sins.  To  me  it  is  passing  strange,  for  in- 
stance that  it  should  be  thought  fanatical  or  inexpe- 
dient in  us,  to  declare  the  system  of  domestic  slavery, 
as  sanctioned  by  law  and  carried  out  in  practice  in 
our  southern  States,  to  be  a high  crime  against  God 
and  man.  Sometimes  they  tell  us  that  it  is  of  no  use 
to  agitate  it  in  the  North ; we  should  go  to  the  South. 
Then,  we  reply,  our  action  at  best  is  harmless.  But 
again  they  tell  us,  that  it  will  rend  the  Union.  My 
brethren  ! I wish  I had  the  time  now  to  examine  this 
point  with  you  by  the  Bible,  and  in  the  light  of  the 
great  day  of  accounts.  I have  no  fear,  that  Jesus 
Christ  will  then  reproach  me  for  proclaiming  it  a crime 
to  treat  immortal  mind  as  the  property  of  man,  a mere 
machine  to  work  for  the  pecuniary  benefit  of  another. 
If  there  is  not  blood  staining  our  nation  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  if  it  is  not  the  duty  of  Christian  ministers 
to  call  the  nation  to  repent  and  put  away  the  sin, 
then  I must  confess  that  I have  mistaken  the  whole 
design  and  commission  of  God’s  ambassadors.  But 
I shall  have  occasion  again  to  refer  to  the  subject 
of  ministerial  prudence  ; — a very  important  qualifica- 
tion in  its  place,  but  a very  hurtful  one  when  unduly 
exercised. 

It  would  now  remain  to  describe  to  you  the  truths 
to  be  believed  and  practised.  But  for  this  I refer  you 
to  the  Confession*  read  this  day  in  your  presence,  and 
to  all  my  past  ministry.  I have  endeavored  to  give 
you  a comprehensive,  distinct,  and  minute  view  of  the 


* Referring  to  the  confession  subscribed  by  the  members  admitted  on 
that  day. 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


309 


truths  revealed  for  your  salvation.  I have  consciously 
withheld  no  portion  from  you.  The  character,  the 
government,  the  providence,  the  purposes  of  God — the 
divine  and  human  character,  the  work,  and  the  offices 
of  Jesus  Christ — the  personality  and  offices  of  the 
Spirit  of  God — the  apostacy,  total  degeneracy  and  ruin 
of  man — his  absolute  dependence  on  the  grace  of  God 
— his  exposure  to  eternal  wrath — his  duty,  immediate 
and  indispensable,  to  repent — the  vast  responsibility  of 
Christians — the  promises  attached  to  the  commands — 
the  glorious  privileges  and  prospects  of  the  children  of 
God,  have  been  explained  and  urged  with  all  the  power 
received  from  heaven.  And  now,  dear  brethren ! it 
remains  for  you  to  walk  in  these  truths,  by  know- 
ing and  believing  them  as  living  realities,  by  feeling 
their  transcendent  importance,  by  governing  your  con- 
duct thereby,  by  obeying  them  yourselves,  and  by 
spreading  the  knowledge  and  influence  of  them  among 
others. 

The  importance  of  it  is  seen  in  a thousand  considera- 
tions. God  had  great  and  especial  ends  to  accomplish 
in  this  peculiar  revelation.  He  gave  you  this  truth 
that  you  might  walk  in  it ; for  on  this  depends  your 
personal  holiness — your  happiness — your  usefulness. 

These  are  powerful  considerations.  But  I wish  to 
urge  and  to  expand  two  others  : — The  peculiar  mercies 
of  God  to  this  church,  which  powerfully  augment  the 
obligations  of  its  members  to  do  his  will ; and  the  con- 
firmation which  he  has  given  in  its  progress,  of  certain 
great  principles. 

We  may  say  of  this  church,  as  Balaam  said  of  Israel, 
when  its  tents  lay  spread  far  and  wide  along  the  valley 
beneath  him,  “ What  hath  God  wrought  ? according 


310 


SERMON  XI. 


to  this  time  it  shall  be  said  of  Jacob  and  of  Israel — 
what  hath  God  wrought  T 

I have  felt  my  soul,  my  being,  identified  with  this 
church.  More  than  eight  years  have  rolled  away  since 
I saw  the  first  little  band  cluster  together  in  the  name 
and  strength  of  the  God  of  Israel,  to  raise  another  ban- 
ner to  his  glory.  To  have  said  much  about  it  before 
the  present  time,  would  virtually  have  been  to  speak 
of  myself.  But  that  period  is  past.  Since  the  purpose 
has  been  fixed  to  leave  you  for  a time — perhaps  for 
ever — a new  feeling  has  come  over  my  heart.  I feel 
as  if  I could  stand  aside  with  a more  chastened  affection 
and  more  impartial  eye  to  behold  the  wonders  and 
riches  of  Divine  mercy.  Of  the  fifty-five  who  laid  the 
first  foundation  stone  of  this  spiritual  structure,  only 
twenty-eight  are  now  among  us.  Of  the  two  hundred 
and  thirty-two  who  constituted  the  church  at  the  close 
of  the  first  year,  and  saw  that  dark,  distressing  period, 
when  nothing  but  the  naked  hand  of  Christ  held  us  up 
among  the  roaring  waters,  only  one  hundred  and  eleven 
are  now  with  us.  They  recollect,  they  can  never  for- 
get those  days.  It  was  “ one  day  known  to  the  Lord, 
not  day  nor  night ; but  it  came  to  pass,  that  at  evening 
time  it  was  light.”  To-night  I take  with  you  a re- 
view of  that  period.  To  those,  who  now  constitute 
this  church,  my  message  is — behold  what  the  Lord 
hath  wrought ! It  is  befitting  this  solemn  and  trying 
occasion  to  recount,  like  Israel  of  old,  the  mercies  of 
God,  that  you  may  praise  his  name, — that  you  may 
understand  more  definitely  the  history  of  the  principle? 
of  this  association,  with  which  you  have  become  so  inti 
mately  connected, — that  you  may  feel  your  obligations 
It  is  usual  on  such  occasions  for  the  pastor  to  speak 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


311 


of  his  own  labors.  I cannot  do  it.  If  I tell  all  that  is 
in  my  heart,  I shall  fall  upon  my  knees  and  cry, — “ De- 
liver me  from  blood  guiltiness.”  I shall  supplicate  for- 
giveness of  the  church — I shall  weep  at  the  feet  of 
sinners,  and  ask  them  to  forgive  my  selfishness,  and 
my  unfaithfulness  and  cruelty  to  their  souls.  By  the 
grace  of  God  something  has  been  done;  but  grace 
and  power  were  given  that  have  not  been  always  im- 
proved. 

But  this  I pass  over,  to  make  mention  of  the  wonder- 
ful acts  of  Him  who  has  established  with  his  people  an 
unchanging  covenant.  “ O give  thanks  unto  the  Lord ; 
call  upon  his  name  ; make  known  his  deeds  among  the 
people.  Sing  unto  him,  sing  psalms  unto  him,  talk  ye 
of  all  his  wondrous  works.  Glory  ye  in  his  holy 
name ; let  the  heart  of  them  that  seek  the  Lord,  re- 
joice. Seek  the  Lord  and  his  strength ; seek  his  face 
evermore.  Remember  his  marvellous  works  that  he 
hath  done ; his  wonders,  and  the  judgments  of  his 
mouth ; O ye  seed  of  Abraham,  his  servant ! ye  chil- 
dren of  Jacob,  his  chosen  !”  To  illustrate  his  good- 
ness, let  us  place  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the 
period  of  eight  years  together.  On  the  16th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1828,  I preached  the  first  sermon  to  a company 
collected  in  the  consistory  room,  kindly  offered  to  us 
by  the  officers  of  the  North  Dutch  Church ; who  have 
thus  imposed  a debt,  which  we  would  cheerfully  repay 
in  the  same  currency  if  an  opportunity  occurred,  as  we 
have  endeavored  to  repay  it  in  thankfulness  and  bene- 
dictions. 

There  were  then  two  views  taken  of  the  enterprise. 
On  the  one  side,  both  the  friends  and  the  enemies  of 
God  said  it  was  an  unholy  enterprise,  unwise  and  un- 


312 


SERMON  XI. 


called  for ; I was  charged  with  fanaticism  and  boyish 
indiscretion.  It  was  said  by  the  sagacious,  “ What  do 
these  men  build  ? behold,  if  a fox  go  up  on  their  walls 
they  will  fall  down.”  When  this  building  was  com- 
menced, some  ridiculed;  obstructions  met  us  in  the 
usual  financial  arrangements,  suspicions  were  set  afloat 
concerning  the  safety  of  crediting  any  one  connected 
even  indirectly  with  the  enterprise.  When  the  first 
indications  of  the  special  presence  of  God’s  Spirit  were 
experienced,  we  were  branded  with  the  severest  ep- 
ithets, and  the  ears  of  God’s  children  were  open  to  the 
falsehoods  of  the  wicked.  Then  understood  I the 
meaning  of  the  Psalmist,  and  the  feelings  of  the  blessed 
Savior  in  some  measure : “ My  soul  is  among  lions, 
and  I lie  even  among  them  that  are  set  on  fire,  even 
the  sons  of  men  whose  teeth  are  spears  and  arrows, 
and  their  tongue  a sharp  sword;  who  whet  their  tongue 
like  a sword,  and  bend  their  bows  to  shoot  their  arrows, 
even  bitter  words.” 

Now,  God  forbid  that  I should  refer  to  the  past  in  a 
spirit  of  revenge,  or  of  boasting.  I should  loathe  myself 
if  I could  ever  indulge  such  feelings,  but  especially 
on  such  an  occasion.  God  knows  my  heart  towards 
this  whole  community,  and  towards  those  who  were  once 
my  bitterest  enemies.  I do  not  boast ; but  I say,  that 
on  the  one  side  were  these  views  and  feelings,  and  pre- 
dictions; on  the  other,  with  much  human  imperfection, 
we  certainly  had  for  our  leading  principles  and  feel- 
ings— a determination  to  sustain  the  plain,  honest  ex- 
hibition of  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  without  consulting 
unconverted  men,  whether  they  were  pleased  or  dis- 
pleased— and  an  unwavering  confidence  that  God 
would  bless  us  if  we  served  him  ! 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


313 


There  were  many  considerations  which  induced  me 
to  remain  here.  Low  and  selfish  motives  were  at- 
tributed. My  friends ! (I  say  it  to  the  glory  of  God,) 
1 had  as  much  confidence  when  I met  in  the  first 
prayer- meeting  with  twenty  persons,  that  God  would 
greatly  bless  us,  as  I have  now  that  he  has  blessed  us. 
Do  not  call  it  presumption,  for  I knew  that  I was  sur- 
rounded by  a praying  band.  Among  many  other 
considerations  which  induced  me  to  remain  and  bear 
the  peltings  of  the  pitiless  storm,  was  the  fact,  as  stated 
then  to  me,  that  a number  of  Christians  were  engaged 
in  prayer  from  sun-set  to  sun-rise,  that  I might  not  be 
permitted  to  leave  the  city.  That  turned  the  scale  ; 
I could  not  desert  such  spirits ; and  I knew  God  would 
bless  them.  I saw  it,  I felt  it ; and  I feel  now  as  if  I 
could  go  gladly  to  attack  the  spirits  in  the  pit,  if  God 
sent  me,  surrounded  by  such  hearts.  And,  more  than 
this,  this  enterprise  and  my  unworthy  name  were  on 
the  lips  of  hundreds  of  God’s  praying  people,  from  this 
city  to  Buffalo.  An  eminent  saint,  who  preached  over 
a wide  circuit,  was  in  the  habit  of  encouraging  the 
churches  to  bear  our  cause  to  the  mercy-seat  con- 
tinually. I consider  this  church  as  a monument 
inscribed  with  the  evidences  of  the  power  of  prayer, 
and  the  faithfulness  of  Jacob’s  God.  The  enemy  said 
il  By  whom  shall  Jacob  arise?  for  he  is  small.”  We 
replied — ‘In  God  is  our  trust : we  will  make  our  boast 
in  the  Lord.’ 

Now  let  us  see  how  the  Lord  hath  dealt  with  us. 
Truly  he  hath  encouraged  the  hearts  of  them  that  be- 
lieved, and  he  hath  silenced  the  enemy  and  avenger. 
I preached  from  Nov.  1828,  to  Feb.  1829,  at  which 
time  the  church  was  organized.  And  it  seemed  as  if 

27 


314 


SERMON  XI. 


the  Lord  would  try  our  faith,  by  suspending  the  mani- 
festation of  his  favor,  until  as  a distinct,  organized  and 
consecrated  church,  we  sat  down  for  the  first  time,  to 
celebrate  the  death  of  Christ.  I shall  never  forget  that 
day.  After  its  toils  were  over,  I was  sent  for,  late  at 
night,  to  see  a trembling  soul  who  had  that  day  been 
brought  to  see  her  guilt  and  danger.  That  was  the 
first  fruit  of  a glorious  harvest.  An  inquiry  meeting 
was  appointed ; and  to  my  surprise,  upwards  of  sixty 
were  present.  From  that  day  to  this,  we  have  not 
passed  the  year  without  some  special  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

It  would  animate  the  hearts  of  other  Christians  to 
hear  a description  of  the  exercises  of  many  who  have 
been  converted.  Never  can  I forget  that  beloved  apart- 
ment of  this  building,  where  I have  met  the  inquirers, 
and  where  1 have  seen  them  consecrate  themselves  to 
God  and  the  Lamb.  Oh  ! what  changes  in  individual 
character ; in  families, — nay,  in  neighborhoods,  hath 
God’s  blessed  Spirit  wrought ! Within  this  period, 
there  have  been  united  to  this  church,  by  letter  and  on 
confession  1012  members,  making  an  average  of  125^ 
each  year.  The  Sabbath  School  has  contained  1500 
pupils. 

We  have  contributed  moneys  which  1 can  trace  as 
follows : Domestic  Missions,  $853 ; Tract  Society, 
.$823  ; Colonization,  $215 ; Bible  Society,  $170  ; City 
objects,  $1220;  Sabbath  School,  $700;  Theological 
Education,  $4964  ; Foreign  Misssions,  $4900.  Total, 
$13,843 — an  average  of  $1730  per  annum.  We  in- 
curred immediately  on  our  organization  a heavy  debt, 
which  is  now,  by  our  own  exertions  and  the  aid  of 
friends,  nearly  extinguished. 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


315 


Forty-six  of  our  brethren  and  sisters  have  changed 
their  connection  with  the  earthly  for  one  with  the 
heavenly  church.  How  glorious  it  has  been  to  see 
them  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  seriously  address  them- 
selves to  preparation  for  death,  and  then  to  witness  the 
reality  of  the  change,  and  its  importance  tested  and  de- 
monstrated in  the  honest  hour  of  the  soul’s  approach  to 
the  judgment-seat.  To  see  the  law-condemned  sinner 
repent,  the  rebel  return  and  obtain  forgiveness ; to  fol- 
low the  soul  through  its  successive  stages  of  heavenly 
improvement  and  refinement ; and  then  to  stand  on  the 
verge  of  the  river  of  death,  to  wade  in  and  support  the 
departing  spirit  until  it  catches  a view  of  the  celestial 
glory,  to  hear  it  shout,  to  see  it  just  touching  the  bliss- 
ful shore — this  is  a minister’s  salary.  Mine  has  been 
paid.  “ Behold,  what  hath  God  wrought  ? If  it  had 
not  been  the  Lord  who  was  on  our  side,  now  may  Israel 
say,  when  men  rose  up  against  us  ; then  they  had  swal- 
lowed us  up  quickly  when  their  wrath  was  kindled 
against  us ; then  the  water  had  overwhelmed  us,  the 
stream  had  gone  over  our  soul ; then  the  proud  waters 
had  gone  over  our  soul.  Our  soul  has  escaped  as  a bird 
out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowler ; the  snare  is  broken,  and 
we  are  escaped.  Our  help  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
who  made  heaven  and  earth.”  “Ye  are  my  witnesses,” 
saith  the  Lord.  We  are,  mighty  God  ! Thou  hast 
glorified  thy  mercy  and  thy  truth  in  the  midst  of  us. 
There  is  yet  another  aspect  of  God’s  dealings  with  us. 

He  has  kindly  chastened  us.  We  have  not  been 
exempt  from  the  common  experience  of  troublesome 
members,  backsliders,  general  coldness  and  utter  apos- 
tacies.  But  in  looking  back  on  the  rapid  advance  of 
this  enterprise,  the  wonder  is  that  in  such  a sudden 


316 


SERMON  XI. 


forming  into  one  mass,  of  so  many  people,  of  such  va- 
rious habits,  temperament  and  education,  that  more 
difficulties  have  not  occurred.  It  is  wonderful  that 
self-will,  the  last  of  all  the  human  passions  to  be  sub- 
dued, the  great  nuisance  of  every  moral  government, 
has  not  shown  itself  more  strongly  and  more  vexatious- 
ly  here.  It  would  have  done  so,  but  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  has  been  with  us.  He  tempered  the  fire  that  was 
consuming  our  dross.  We  bless  him  that  he  has  af- 
flicted us,  and  so  afflicted  us.  And  now  we  may  look 
back  on  those  days  of  rebuke  and  say — “When  the 
Lord  turned  again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  we  were  like 
them  that  dream.  Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with 
laughter,  and  our  tongue  with  singing  ; then  said  they 
among  the  Gentiles,  the  Lord  hath  done  great  things 
for  them.  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us, 
whereof  we  are  glad.  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap 
in  joy.  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  pre- 
cious seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing, 
bringing  his  sheaves  with  him.” 

In  addition  to  this  view  of  God’s  mercies  to  the 
church,  I would  impress  obligation,  by  showing  that 
God  has  in  a particular  manner  confirmed , in  the 
midst  of  us , certain  great  principles . 

1.  The  power  of  prayer . 

The  foundation-stone  of  this  enterprise  was  laid 
emphatically  in  prayer ; the  duty  of  prayer  has  been 
enjoined  and  urged  incessantly.  Meetings  for  prayer 
have  been  multiplied  to  a degree,  in  the  estimation  of 
many,  extravagant.  Now  it  is  not  fair  to  presume,  that 
there  has  been  any  more  sincere  prayer  here  in  pro- 
portion, than  with  other  Christians.  But  it  is  fair  to 
suppose,  that  there  has  been  as  much  in  proportion,  and 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


317 


consequently  that  there  has  been  in  fact  more  real 
prayer  than  in  most  societies  around  us.  We  have  as- 
sembled in  the  early  morning  for  months.  We  have 
met,  for  long  periods,  at  10  o’clock  every  morning  to  pray 
directly  for  the  conversion  of  the  impenitent.  We  have 
believed  in  the  transcendent  importance  of  the  conver- 
sion of  men.  We  have  prayed  for  it.  We  have  witness- 
ed it  in  hundreds  of  joyful  instances.  All  our  history  is 
such  a demonstration  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  that,  if  I 
had  never  had  any  other  proof,  I should  feel  an  over- 
whelming sense  of  obligation  to  pray  without  ceasing. 

2.  God  will  bless  the  faithful  exertions  of  his  people . 

When  we  speak  of  faithfulness,  it  is  only  relative. 

It  has  been  found  here,  that  whenever  we  employed 
certain  instrumentalities  with  earnestness,  they  were 
blessed.  Whenever  the  church  has  consecrated  special 
seasons  to  prayer,  and  to  exertions  to  awaken  in  the 
community  a sense  of  the  importance  of  personal  reli- 
gion ; they  have  never  failed  of  success. 

3.  That  to  feel  for  others , and  to  give  of  our  pro 
perty  for  their  good , is  blessed . 

We  commenced  with  a love  to  the  cause  of  evangel- 
izing the  world.  In  debt  as  a church,  poor  as  indi- 
viduals, we  have  never  yet  failed  to  do  our  proportion, 
not  of  what  ought  to  be  done,  but  of  what  has  been 
done  in  this  great  cause.  There  were  times  when  the 
faith  of  some  of  our  brethren  staggered  on  this  point : 
it  seemed  to  them  presumptuous  to  be  sending  away 
hundreds  of  dollars  to  others,  when  a heavy  burden 
hung  upon  our  own  wheels.  But  we  have  never  failed. 
For  the  last  six  years  we  have  supported  a foreign  mis- 
sionary; and  during  the  current  year  we  have  raised 
by  subscription  nearly  $300  more.  But  we  have  lost 
27* 


318 


SERMON  XI. 


nothing.  The  monthly  concert  of  prayer  has  been  to 
us  a delightful  season.  In  watering  others,  we  have 
ever  been  watered  ourselves.  And  when  at  length  we 
struggled  to  roll  off  our  heavy  debt,  God  helped  us. 
He  inclined  the  hearts  of  our  young  men  to  step  promptly 
forward ; and  he  raised  up  for  us  kind  friends  in  the 
community. 

4.  The  duty  of  the  Church  to  take  a high  stand  in 
the  reformations  which  benevolent  men  are  urging 
forward. 

We  have  been  met,  as  before  remarked,  with  the  sen- 
timent in  various  forms — that  the  Church  and  her  min- 
isters must  not  go  in  advance  of  public  sentiment.  The 
pledge  to  abstain  from  ardent  spirits  was  thought  by 
many  to  be  a very  good  thing : but  it  was  not  discreet 
to  introduce  the  subject  into  the  pulpit,  and  to  urge  it 
forward.  We  believed  not  so.  Nay  more ; we  believed 
that  it  was  our  duty  as  a church  to  admit  no  one  to  our 
communion  who  would  not  enter  into  this  stipulation. 
We  wanted  no  Christians,  who  could  stand  aside  and 
look  with  indifference  upon  this  noble  effort  of  philan- 
thropy and  piety.  We  have  never  had  occasion  to  re- 
gret it,  but  much  reason  to  rejoice  in  it.  God  has 
blessed  it.  Many  reformed  inebriates  have  entered  this 
church,  and  to  my  knowledge  there  is  no  case  of  re- 
lapse. The  walls  of  this  building  have  resounded  for 
successive  months  with  the  pleas  of  the  eloquent  friends 
of  temperance  ; and  many  a heart  has  been  gladdened, 
as  the  father,  husband,  and  son  have  come  forward  and 
pledged  themselves  to  the  abandonment  of  the  destruc- 
tive drink.  The  plea  for  the  Sabbath,  and  the  plea  for 
the  seventh  commandment,  have  been  urged  here. 
And  I rejoice  that  on  this  platform  has  been  urged  the 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


319 


claim  of  the  enslaved.  I have  heard  of  the  danger  of 
exposing  the  building  and  the  audience  to  molestation. 
I have  heard  of  something  worse, — the  odium  attached 
to  the  cause  of  liberty.  But  we  have  gloried  to  bear 
that  odium.  We  rejoice  that  God  enabled  us  to  erect 
one  of  the  buildings  in  this  city  where  the  cry  of  the 
oppressed  and  down-trodden  could  be  echoed  in  the  ear 
of  Christian  sympathy.  We  feel  assured  that  it  is  right. 
We  bless  God  for  the  assurance  which  his  providence 
affords  us,  that  it  is  right  for  his  church  to  be  the  pioneer 
of  moral  reformations.  The  right  of  opinion  is  a na- 
tural right ; the  right  of  expressing  opinion  is  another, 
conferred  by  the  author  of  the  human  constitution ; 
and  both  sacredly  guaranteed  by  the  bond  of  our  politi- 
cal union.  And  I know  nothing  more  alarming  in 
modem  politics,  than  the  attempt  to  brow-beat  free 
American  citizens  in  the  peaceful  maintenance  of  eter- 
nal truths,  and  to  persecute  them  for  the  candid,  manly, 
and  courteous  expression  of  those  sentiments.  We 
have  a right  to  try  to  convince  the  north  and  south. 
Ministers  have  a right  frgm  God,  and  a commission 
and  a warrant  from  the  American  constitution,  to  expose 
the  sins  and  dangers  involved  in  the  system  of  oppres- 
sion legalized  and  practised  among  us.  I am  ashamed 
to  hear  it  said,  that  there  are  places  in  America,  where 
you  cannot  candidly  and  temperately  discuss  great 
questions  of  public  duty  and  safety. 

5.  The  propriety , policy , and  importance  of  plain , 
direct . pungent  preaching . 

Here  I make  no  contrasts.  Hearing  no  preaching 
out  of  this  place,  I am  unable  to  form  a judgment  con- 
cerning the  various  styles  adopted  in  this  city.  But  I 
know,  that  when  I preached  to  another  congregation, 


320 


SERMON  XI. 


they  turned  me  from  them  because  I preached  too  di- 
rectly and  pungently.  I never  could  hear  any  other 
objection  on  the  most  careful  inquiry.  On  that  point  I 
was  entreated  to  change.  But  on  that  point  this  church 
took  its  stand  from  the  commencement,  and  determined 
to  welcome  the  most  direct  and  pungent  preaching  that 
was  according  to  the  word  of  God.  Now  for  the  im- 
portance of  it ; it  is  to  us  most  manifest  that  God  has 
connected  the  conversion  of  hundreds  with  that  as  an 
indispensable  means.  As  to  the  policy  of  it;  it  was 
said — ‘ Why  men  will  desert  your  churches.’  God  has 
shown  us  that  it  is  not  so.  And  more  than  that,  I am 
the  living  witness  to  the  fact,  that  the  churches  in  this 
city  will  now  bear  a degree  of  directness  and  pungency 
that  would  once  have  been  thought  intolerable.  I am 
told  that  I have  altered.  I say,  that  public  sentiment 
has  altered.  One  of  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  it  to 
me  is,  that  I am  ashamed  now  to  preach  those  very  ser- 
mons which  made  the  disturbance  in  the  Second  Church 
because  they  are  too  tame  and  pointless. 

And  now,  dear  friends ! having  shown  what  God  hath 
wrought  for  and  by  this  society,  you  will  permit  me  to 
speak  more  directly  of  God’s  mercies  to  me  as  your 
Pastor.  No  man  can  tell  what  I have  passed  through 
in  this  city.  My  entrance  here  was  flattering ; my  re- 
ception, every  thing  I could  ask  as  a man  and  a minis- 
ter. So  long  as  Foreign  Missions  was  my  topic,  all 
went  well.  But  when  I turned  to  show  the  amiable 
and  moral  and  respected  of  this  community,  that  they 
were  more  guilty  than  the  heathen,  and  were  going  to 
a deeper  condemnation,  they  rose  in  might  against  me. 
I had  never  known  an  enemy  before,  since  my  conver- 
sion. I had  never  been  slandered.  But  now  a new 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


321 


scene  awaited  me  in  this  goodly  city.  I was  reviled  ; 
my  sermons  and  sentiments  were  misrepresented  ; 
friends  grew  cold  and  enemies  multiplied.  For  a 
stripling  this  was  new,  and,  you  may  be  sure,  well 
nigh  overwhelming.  My  heart  overflowed  with  love 
to  all.  I could  not  see  why  any  should  persecute  me. 
But  oh  ! it  was  a blessed  school.  I would  not  part 
with  the  lessons  there  learned  for  all  the  enjoyments 
of  an  undisturbed  prosperity.  Yet  for  three  years  I 
walked  the  streets  of  this  city,  feeling  as  if,  by  God’s 
command,  I was  an  intruder  here.  I have  felt  as  if  the 
very  houses  frowned  upon  me.  Cheerfully  would  I 
have  fled  and  hid  myself  like  Elijah  in  a cave  ; but 
the  very  style  of  the  opposition  showed  clearly,  that  the 
controversy  was  with  God  and  his  word,  not  with  the 
lips  of  clay  which  uttered  it. 

But  I turn  from  that,  to  speak  of  the  hearts  which 
cherished,  and  the  hands  which  upheld  me,  in  those 
trying  days.  Brethren  ! sisters  ! I thus  publicly  thank 
you.  You  gave  not  only  a cup  of  cold  water  to  a dis- 
ciple when  it  was  a reproach  to  you,  you  shared  his 
sorrows,  you  shielded  his  reputation  with  your  own, 
you  would  have  shared  the  last  earthly  comfort  with 
him ; you  would  have  died  with  him  for  Christ.  You 
wept  for  me,  you  carried  my  burdens,  you  prayed  for 
me.  I know  it.  And  my  heart  thanks  you  ; my  soul 
clings  to  you.  But  chiefly  I recognise  the  goodness  of 
God  in  it,  in  whose  hands  are  all  hearts.  I thank  the 
members  of  the  church  for  their  forbearance  and  sym- 
pathy and  respect,  and  the  many  proofs  of  their  love. 
Nothing  but  love  has  made  you  bear  with  my  very 
imperfect  discharge  of  the  duties  that  I owed  you. 
God  hath  wrought  in  you  this  heart  of  kindness.  My 


322 


SERMON  XI. 


highest  thanks  are  due  to  him.  I thank  God,  this 
night,  before  you  all,  for  his  provident  care  of  me.  1 
have  not  been  prevented  by  sickness  from  preaching, 
so  many  as  twelve  Sabbaths  for  nearly  nine  years. 
Since  commencing  to  form  this  church  I have  preached 
to  you  about  one  thousand  sermons.  I have  assisted 
other  churches  in  sustaining  more  than  thirty  protract- 
ed meetings.  I have  delivered  ninety  addresses  on 
Temperance ; more  than  a hundred  addresses  on  For- 
eign Missions ; many  on  Slavery  ; many  for  objects  in 
our  city;  for  the  Tract,  Bible,  Education,  and  other 
societies  ; attended  and  addressed  the  various  societies 
in  three  anniversaries  at  New-York,  one  at  Cincinnati, 
one  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  one  at  Boston,  one  at  Troy.  1 
have  performed  a tour  through  many  principal  cities  in 
this  state  and  into  Canada,  on  the  subject  of  Common 
School  Education. 

With  the  fullest  sense  of  my  unworthiness  to  labor 
in  so  glorious  a cause,  do  1,  this  night,  render  thanks 
to  God  for  bestowing  upon  me  the  ability  and  dispo- 
sition to  perform  these  labors.  Brethren ! I have  be- 
come a fool  in  glorying ; but  God  is  my  witness,  I do 
it  for  his  glory.  I dare  not  refrain.  I have  been  a 
child  of  Providence.  David  could  not  hold  his  tongue 
from  uttering  the  mercies  of  God  after  his  great  de- 
liverances. 

And  now,  brethren ! I am  about  to  say — Farewell  ! 
I leave  you,  not  because  I do  not  love  you.  My  heart 
grows  closer  to  you  every  day.  This  church  appears 
to  me  more  interesting,  and  more  important  than  ever. 
I go,  because  I believe  I ought  to  go.  Europe  is  dear 
to  my  heart ; but  America  is  dearer.  And  I know 
that  if  permitted,  I shall  hail  its  shores  again  with  de- 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


323 


light.  I go  to  gather  light  from  the  experience  of  ages, 
to  see  man  in  other  climates,  and  under  other  institu- 
tions. My  soul  pants  for  knowledge,  human  and 
divine.  But  I would  not  indulge  the  desire,  could  not 
that  knowledge,  when  acquired,  be  employed  for  greater 
usefulness.  Be  assured,  it  is  not  for  myself.  Whatever 
I am  now,  or  may  be  hereafter,  is  my  country’s  and  my 
God’s.  I consecrate  it  to  the  Church  of  Christ  and  to 
the  human  race. 

Brethren ! what  mean  ye  to  weep  and  break  my 
heart  ? If  there  be  pleasure  in  the  prospect  of  seeing 
many  wonders,  of  witnessing  the  splendid  trophies  of 
human  genius,  of  indulging  the  powerful  desires  of 
curiosity,  I have  felt  little  of  it ; and  less  and  less  as 
the  time  of  our  separation  has  approached.  The  recol- 
lections of  the  past,  the  evidences  of  your  ardent  and 
unbought  love,  the  anticipation  of  your  painful  feel- 
ings, when  an  accustomed  voice,  which  your  own 
kindness  has  made  you  love  to  hear,  shall  be  heard  no 
more, — these  considerations  have  occupied  my  mind 
supremely.  The  question, — ‘ How  shall  I accomplish 
the  most  good  for  this  beloved  people  during  the  brief 
period  of  our  intercourse,’ — has  weighed  heavily  on 
my  heart.  And  now  the  end  of  this  anxiety  is  reached, 
and  I am  called  to  perform  the  last  act  of  religious 
service  in  this  endeared  sanctuary.  Oh  ! it  is  with  a 
heavy  heart  that  I say  to  such  friends — farewell ! 
Deeply  shall  your  names,  your  countenances  be  en- 
graven on  this  memory.  I shall  carry  a catalogue  of 
them  with  me,  and  spread  it  before  that  mercy-seat,  at 
which  we  have  so  often  met.  My  children ! my 
brothers  ! my  fathers ! walk  in  the  truth.  God  has 
been  with  you,  is  with  you,  has  promised  still  to  be 


324 


SERMON  XI. 


with  you.  Look  at  all  the  way  in  which  he  has  led 
you.  Ebenezers  line  the  path  of  your  history.  Each 
once  speaks  to  your  heart — ‘ be  of  good  courage,  for 
our  God  is  an  unchanging  God.5 

Brethren  in  the  eldership  ! called  to  watch  over  this 
flock  with  me,  a double  responsibility  will  now  come 
upon  you.  I can  no  longer  share  that  superintendence. 
But  it  is  not  among  the  least  of  God’s  mercies,  that  the 
recent  meetings  which  we  have  held,  the  enlargement 
of  your  numbers,  and  the  plan  of  operations  adopted, 
give  such  promise  of  benefits  to  the  church.  Be  reg- 
ular, be  punctual  in  your  sessional  meetings.  Go  to 
this  afflicted  people  ; watch  over  them ; for  the  tempter 
will  now  have  peculiar  power  over  many,  by  making  a 
readier  excuse  for  deserting  the  ordinances  and  the 
house  of  God.  Watch  over  every  wheel  in  our  moral 
machinery.  See  that  none  of  them  stop,  see  that  each 
is  kept  in  repair,  and  is  moving  in  its  place.  I com- 
mend to  you  the  Sabbath-Schools,  the  Bible-Classes, 
the  Young  Men’s  Association,  the  Maternal  Associa- 
tion, the  Converts’  Class,  the  Prayer-Meeting,  the  Tract- 
Distribution,  the  Benevolent  Societies.  See  that  this 
people  hear  the  claims  of  each  during  every  year.  Do 
not  let  them  hug  their  purses,  and  close  their  ear  to  the 
cry  of  the  perishing.  Call  the  attention  of  this  people 
to  the  great  moral  reformations  of  our  day.  Enlist 
their  hearts  for  the  drunkard,  the  slave,  the  unwary 
youth  who  walks  amid  the  snares  of  the  licentious,  the 
Sabbath-profaner.  Point  this  people  to  the  times  and 
seasons  and  ways,  when  they  can  labor  with  special 
promise  of  success  for  the  conversion  of  sinners. 

Fathers ! mothers ! love  the  souls  of  your  children. 
Much,  much  remains  to  be  done  for  them,  that  has  not 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


325 


been  done.  There  is  a degree  and  kind  of  prayer,  of 
anxiety,  of  skill,  of  perseverance,  which  you  have  not 
yet  adopted.  I entreat  every  mother  of  young  children 
to  join  the  Maternal  Association  and  love  it,  for  it  must 
benefit  you,  if  your  heart  is  right. 

Young  men ! be  strong  in  the  Lord.  Cherish  the 
association  which  you  have  formed.  Cherish  this 
church.  Bear  it  on  your  strong  shoulders,  and  inspire 
it  with  your  own  constitutional  vigor. 

Young  women ! the  modern  development  of  God’s 
providences  has  opened  to  you  new,  wide  and  appro- 
priate spheres  of  great  usefulness ; enter  and  walk  in 
them. 

Aged  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel ! I rejoice  that 
you  have  almost  reached  your  crown.  Be  faithful 
unto  death. 

Dear  children  ! you  are  very  dear  to  me.  It  is  your 
conversion  I have  sought,  and  now  most  earnestly  de- 
sire. Turn  now  to  the  Lord.  Give  your  hearts  to  him 
and  serve  him. 

Dear  converts ! next  to  the  impenitent,  there  is  no 
class  of  our  church  and  congregation  from  whom  I so 
reluctantly  separate.  I know  that  others  can  watch 
over  you  and  teach  you.  But  ye  have  not  many  fathers. 
“ I have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear  that  my  children 
walk  in  truth.” 

To  the  members  of  the  church  generally,  let  me  re- 
commend a chastened,  Christian  love  to  this  church.  I 
mean  not  with  party-spirit,  nor  sectarian  zeal.  But, 
because  your  responsibilities  are  concentrated  here, 
here  exert  yourselves  in  building  up  the  knowledge  of 
Christ.  Love  other  Christians,  other  sects.  Look  more 
at  the  great  points  of  resemblance,  than  at  the  minor 

28 


326 


SERMON  XI. 


points  of  difference.  Cherish  the  spirit  of  harmony 
with  one  another.  Let  no  root  of  bitterness  spring  up. 
no  schism.  Abhor  the  talebearer  and  backbiter,  the 
curse  of  every  community,  peculiarly  of  a church. 
And  now,  let  me  express  to  you  my  fear  of  the  ad- 
vantage, which  the  adversary  will  take  of  my  depart- 
ure. Your  thoughts  and  conversations  concerning  a 
man  may  lead  even  your  hearts  from  God.  “ When  my 
father  and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take 
me  up,”  said  an  ancient  saint.  This  is  from  the  Lord : 
whether  I am  right  or  wrong  in  this  step.  He  directs 
it  to  you.  See  his  hand,  and  kiss  the  rod.  Yield  your 
personal  preferences  concerning  him  who  succeeds. 
Finally,  brethren  ! pray  for  me. 

Once  more,  unconverted  hearers  ! let  your  friend 
and  brother  turn  to  you.  You  have  honored  my 
ministry.  I thank  you  for  it.  But  my  master — how 
have  you  treated  him?  And  his  message, — how  have 
you  treated  that  ? Oh  ! must  I,  your  friend  and  brother, 
be  a swift  witness  against  you  ? Life  and  death,  good 
and  evil,  blessings  and  cursings  have  been  set  before 
you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  But  here  I leave  you 
unreconciled  to  God.  May  I linger  yet  a moment 
around  you  : may  I yet  persuade  you,  by  all  the  claims 
of  God,  by  all  the  terrors  of  his  curse,  by  all  the  price 
paid  for  your  redemption,  by  all  the  yearnings  of  a 
brother’s  heart,  to  form  the  great  decision  by  which 
you  cross  the  dividing  line  between  life  and  death  ; 
to  exercise  that  repentance  by  which  you  can  honestly 
come  to  Christ,  that  faith  by  which  you  can  partake 
of  the  fulness  of  his  salvation.  Come,  come,  I entreat 
you.  With  a lingering  step,  I turn  from  you.  Will 
you  come? 


VALEDICTORY  SERMON. 


327 


Citizens  of  Albany  ! farewell  ! Have  I wronged  you, 
have  I misled?  or  have  I been  as  a prophet  of  the 
Lord  in  the  midst  of  you  ? Speak ; for  I am  now  seal- 
ing the  first  section  of  my  ministry,  perhaps  the  last 
among  you.  I have  stood  on  yon  heights  and  looked 
over  your  dwellings,  and  my  anxious  thoughts  have 
dwelt  upon  your  spiritual  interests  ; my  fervent  prayers 
have  arisen  for  you  and  your  children.  I have  been 
willing  to  labor  for  the  general  good,  just  as  much  as 
for  this  individual  association.  If  any  have  injured 
me,  I would  that  they  knew  how  fully  they  are  for- 
given. If  I have  injured  any,  I would  that  they  knew 
how  sincerely  I implore  forgiveness.  Many  of  you 
have  kindly  appreciated  my  desires  for  your  welfare, 
whatever  you  have  thought  of  the  imperfect  manner 
employed  to  promote  it.  You  are  kind,  and  your  kind- 
ness will  be  remembered. 

Members  of  sister  churches ! God  bless  you,  and 
make  you  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Remember  your  absent  brother. 

Unconverted  fellow-citizens  ! hear  the  last  word  of  a 
parting  friend ; make  Christ  your  Savior,  and  Heaven 
your  prize.  “ Ye  must  be  born  again.”  Turn,  then, 
quickly  to  the  Lord,  and  your  souls  shall  live. 

Again,  dear  friends  ! farewell — farewell  ! 


ADDRESSES, 

TO  PROMOTE  THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION ; 

Delivered  in  Surrey  Chapel , London. 

The  following  addresses  were  delivered  by  Mr.  Kirk  at  a meeting  in 
Surrey  Chapel,  so  well  known  as  the  scene  of  the  labors  of  the  Rev. 
Rowland  Hill.  This  meeting,  or  rather,  series  of  meetings,  was  designed 
to  make  the  experiment,  whether  these  means,  so  much  blessed  in  Amer- 
ica, were  adapted  only  to  transatlantic  minds,  or  not.  The  issues  were 
delightful ; multitudes  of  ministers,  in  the  metropolis,  and  through  the 
country,  were  encouraged  to  “prove  the  Lord”  in  the  same  manner; 
and  they  found,  too,  that  his  special  blessing  was  awaiting  their  special 
labors  and  prayers. 

These  addresses  were  taken  down  by  a stenographer,  and  published, 
together  with  several  sermons ; in  fact,  all  the  exercises  of  the  week  were 
published  in  a neat  little  book,  entitled,  “ The  Church  Awakened;”  and 
had  a wide  circulation. 


28* 


ADDRESS  I. 


Rev.  James  Sherman,  pastor  of  the  Church,  having  made  some  very 
impressive  remarks,  Mr.  Kirk  arose  and  addressed  the  assembly  : — 

My  Beloved  Christian  Friends  ! 

I suppose  that  few,  who  have  at  all  reflected  upon 
the  subject,  will  be  disposed  to  deny,  that,  immediately 
after  death,  (unless  the  mind  be  overwhelmed  with  the 
suddenness,  and  the  awful  nature,  of  the  objects  which 
present  themselves  to  our  view,)  the  mind  will  wake 
up  with  astonishment — astonishment  that  we  could 
have  been  living  so  far  from  God.  and  astonishment 
that  we  continued  so  long  to  view  every  thing  through 
a false  medium.  You  can  take  the  smallest  coin,  and, 
by  bringing  it  near  to  the  eye,  can  conceal  the  sun 
from  your  view.  Small  as  is  the  object,  its  nearness 
to  the  eye  prevents  you  from  beholding  one  of  greater 
magnitude  at  a distance.  Here,  then,  is  the  delusion  : — 
“ The  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal but  still 
they  are  seen , and  the  sight  of  them  prevents  us  from 
seeing  those  which  are  eternal.  God  has,  therefore, 
brought  in  a new  principle,  which  is  faith.  This  looks 
not  at  the  things  which  are  seen , but  at  those  which 
are  unseen  ; not  to  things  which  are  temporal , but  to 
those  which  are  eternal ; and  it  presents  these  unseen 
and  eternal  objects  to  our  view,  not  as  if  regarded 
through  an  inverted  telescope,  but  clothed  in  all  their 


332 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


grandeur  and  magnitude  and  as  if  constantly  before  us 
and  around  us. 

You  have  heard  of  our  meetings  for  the  revival  of 
religion  in  America  ; and  I now  want  to  explain  to  you 
one  of  the  principles  on  which  they  are  conducted,  that 
you  may  be  able  to  judge  for  yourselves. 

When  we  commenced  our  protracted  meetings  for  a 
revival  of  religion,  some  ridiculed  us.  But  God  gave 
us  strength  to  persevere.  It  is  a fact  which  none  can 
dispute,  that  every  minister  of  Christ  may  learn  some- 
thing by  coming  in  close  contact  with  the  minds  of  his 
people.  It  is  a grand  mistake  to  wait  at  home,  and 
expect  that  our  people  will  come  to  us ; we  must  go  out 
in  quest  of  them,  and  ascertain  definitely  what  is  their 
state  of  mind,  and  what  impressions  our  sermons  pro- 
duce. We  stay  at  home  and  study  theology  in  our 
closets,  till,  by  abstract  meditation,  we  reach  a point 
intellectually  far  beyond  the  reach  of  our  people.  We 
learn  the  meaning  of  technical  words  and  terms,  about 
which  our  people  know  comparatively  nothing.  We 
think  that  they  know  them  ; but  in  this  we  often  labor 
under  a great  mistake.  To  us,  these  words  are  talis- 
mans, calling  up  deep  emotions ; to  them  they  are  cold 
and  unmeaning.  There  are  men,  for  instance,  who, 
throughout  the  whole  week,  have  been  doing  nothing 
but  counting  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence.  They  are 
in  no  way  prepared  either  to  listen  to,  or  understand, 
their  minister  on  the  Sabbath.  They  attend,  perhaps, 

- in  the  morning,  but  have  not  yet  had  time  to  disengage 
themselves  from  the  world,  and  to  be  prepared  for  sym- 
pathy with  the  things  of  a spiritual  world.  The  same 
parties  attend  in  the  afternoon,  a little  better  prepared. 
And  why?  Because  we  have  been  striking  upon  their 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  333 


flinty  hearts  all  the  morning,  holding  up  Christ  to 
their  view,  and  saying,  “ Come  here,  and  look  !”  On 
the  very  same  principle,  our  evening-meetings  have 
been  best  of  all ; the  people’s  hearts  becoming  all  the 
while  better  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  truth.  I 
found  this  so  strongly  the  case  in  my  own  congre- 
gation, that  I determined  that  Monday  should  not  roll 
its  oblivious  wave  over  the  impressions  of  the  Sabbath. 
“ God,”  said  I,  “ has  given  us  one  Sabbath, — one  day 
for  meeting  ; but  why  should  we  not  have  two  ?”  We 
tried  it,  and  my  hopes  were  realized.  The  impres- 
sions of  the  Sabbath  were  revived  and  deepened  in 
the  morning,  still  more  in  the  afternoon,  and  most  of 
all  at  night.  By  the  aid  of  some  ministers,  we  held 
the  attention  of  the  people  continually  to  the  truth; 
and  we  were  willing  to  go  on  to  Tuesday,  Wednesday, 
Thursday,  Friday,  or  Saturday ; or,  if  God  gave  us 
strength,  till  we  were  called  upon  to  lay  our  feeble 
bodies  in  the  dust,  if  it  were  best. 

To  render  this  principle  more  obvious,  let  me  suppose 
a case.  I want  to  sell  a house,  and  the  price  I fix  upon 
it  is  £5000.  The  price  I have  fixed  upon  is  large,  but 
not  more  than  its  real  value.  The  person,  to  whom 
I have  offered  it  for  sale,  knows  nothing  of  its  value, 
having  never  seen  it,  but  he  has  a very  clear  idea  of 
the  value  of  £5000.  I give  him  a description  of  it,  but 
he  still  refuses  to  purchase.  I take  him  and  show  him 
the  house,  leading  him  first  into  this  apartment  and 
then  into  that ; pointing  out  to  him  first  this  embellish- 
ment and  then  that ; directing,  at  the  same  time,  his 
attention  to  fertile  lands  upon  which  it  is  situated,  and 
the  beautiful  views  by  which  it  is  surrounded ; and  I 
find,  by  watching  his  countenance,  that  the  £5000  are 


334  ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 

rapidly  sinking  in  his  estimation,  and  that  his  desire  to 
possess  the  house  is  becoming  stronger  and  stronger, 
until  at  last  he  determines  to  buy  it. 

Just  so  it  is  with  the  sinner.  You  are  not  to  expect 
him  to  buy  the  truth,  without  some  effort  on  your  part 
to  impress  upon  him  a conviction  of  its  intrinsic  value. 
If  you  want  to  do  the  sinner  good,  take  him  all  around 
the  pit  of  hell ; let  him  see  the  flames  of  that  fire  which 
is  never  quenched ; let  him  hear  the  shrieks  and  groans 
of  those  condemned  criminals,  who  are  for  ever  shut 
up  in  the  regions  of  darkness  and  despair ; and  when 
he  has  seen  this,  say, — c Immortal  man ! we  want  to 
get  you  out  of  that  state  of  torpor  in  which  you  have 
so  long  lain.  It  is  not  for  the  sake  merely  of  terrifying 
you,  but  to  lead  you  to  see  things  as  you  will,  one  day, 
see  them  in  the  light  of  another  world.5  Take  him  all 
around  the  battlements  of  Zion,  the  holy  city,  the  city 
of  our  God  ; let  him  tell  her  towers  ; let  him  mark  her 
bulwarks  ; let  him  consider  her  palaces ; let  him  hear 
the  celestial  music  which  warbles  upon  the  tongues  of 
the  heavenly  choir ; and  then  say, — £ Consider,  immor- 
tal man  ! at  what  a price  all  this  has  been  purchased — 
the  price  of  the  Savior’s  blood ; and  let  the  world,  which 
has  so  long  engrossed  your  thoughts  and  affections,  and 
so  long  dazzled  you  with  the  false  glare  of  its  splendor, 
go,  and  go  for  ever.5  Take  him  all  around  the  cross 
of  Christ ; show  him  the  dignity  of  the  mighty  Sufferer ; 
let  him  see  those  expiring  throes  at  which  all  nature 
was  convulsed. 

The  truth  is  God’s  instrument  of  conversion ; but 
the  truth,  to  be  effective,  must  be  closely,  solemnly, 
and  continuously  the  object  of  thought.  We  see  the 
mind  of  an  individual  serious  on  Sunday,  less  so  on 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  335 

Monday,  and  still  less  so  on  Tuesday.  The  impres- 
sions of  truth,  like  the  waves  of  a retiring  tide,  are 
every  day  more  and  more  feeble.  Say  to  him,  then, — 
‘ We  want  you  to  see  these  things  on  Monday  as  you 
saw  them  on  Sunday ; and  we  think  that  if  you  saw 
that  lovely  face,  and  those  bleeding  hands,  which  were 
stretched  upon  the  cross,  you  would  be  led  to  feel  the 
awfulness  of  your  condition,  and  the  necessity  of  your 
immediately  escaping  with  your  life.  We  want  not, 
by  this,  to  make  the  truth  more  perfect,  but  to  cause 
you  to  feel  more  of  its  power ; and  if  Sunday  is  not 
sufficient  for  this  purpose,  let  us  have  Monday,  and 
Tuesday,  yea,  the  whole  week,  rather  than  suffer  the 
things  that  are  temporal  to  stand  in  the  way  of  those 
that  are  eternal.’  This  is  what  I call,  the  Philosophy 
of  Revivals ; this  is  the  principle  on  which  our  pro- 
tracted meetings  have  been  held  in  America — the  prin- 
ciple of  constantly  holding  the  minds  of  the  people 
fixed  on  the  truth.  The  foolish  ostrich,  when  pursued, 
buries  his  head  in  the  sand,  and  supposes  that  his  body 
is  concealed.  So  unconverted  sinners  fly  from  the 
pursuit  of  truth,  and  endeavor  to  conceal  themselves  in 
a crowd  of  worldly  enjoyments  and  pursuits.  If  we 
would  be  faithful  to  our  trust,  we  must  go  forth  and 
drag  them  from  their  hiding  place,  and  throw  around 
them  the  blaze  of  truth  with  so  dazzling  a splendor  that 
they  shall  be  unable  to  withstand  it. 

Oh  ! I have  felt  in  this  sacred  place,  this  morning, 
so  much  of  the  preciousness  of  Jesus  to  my  soul,  and 
my  heart  has  so  panted  with  new  desires  to  serve  him, 
that  no  language  could  give  adequate  utterance  to  my 
feelings.  God  has  opened  to  my  view  such  a desire 
for  his  glory  as  for  a long  time  I have  not  felt.  And 


336 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


many,  I presume,  can  testify  the  same.  I think  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  beginning  to  move  on  the  hearts 
of  his  people  in  this  place  ; and  my  reasons  for  think- 
ing so  are  two.  First, — There  has  been  a little  in- 
crease in  the  spirit  of  prayer  ; and  secondly,— God  has 
granted  an  answer  to  these  prayers  in  the  manifestation 
of  his  presence.  If  a little  prayer  will  bring  do  wn  such 
joy  into  the  hearts  of  his  people,  what  are  we  to  expect 
when  he  comes  down  in  the  plenitude  of  his  influence, 
in  answer  to  the  united  and  fervent  prayers  of  his 
people  ! 

I remarked,  last  night,  on  the  coming  of  the  Spirit ; 
and,  I believe  that  we  are  living  in  the  days  predicted 
in  the  third  chapter  and  the  first  and  second  verses  of 
the  prophecies  of  Malachi ; — “ Behold,  I will  send  my 
Messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me ; 
and  the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to 
his  temple,  even  the  Messenger  of  the  Covenant,  whom 
ye  delight  in : behold,  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  But  who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ? and 
who  shall  stand  when  he  appeareth  ? for  he  is  like  a 
refiner’s  fire,  and  like  fullers’  soap.  And  he  shall  sit  as 
a refiner  and  purifier  of  silver ; and  he  shall  purify  the 
sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  silver,  that 
they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteous- 
ness.” I may  remark,  here,  that  some  of  these  prophe- 
cies have  a double,  or  even  a threefold  signification ; 
and  that  this  particular  prophecy  has  had  its  fulfilment 
in  the  person  of  John  the  Baptist,  as  also  at  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  But  our  blessed  Lord  has  told  us,  that  “the 
kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation and 
we  believe  that  the  kingdom  of  God  will  come  without 
observation  into  your  hearts  and  into  mine ; and  we 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  337 

further  believe  that  the  messengers,  whom  the  Lord 
now  sends  to  prepare  the  way  before  him,  are  his  faith- 
ful ministers,  deeply  and  anxiously  concerned  to  extend 
the  boundaries  of  the  Redeemer’s  kingdom.  It  is  now 
fulfilled  in  the  preachers  of  the  gospel, — in  my  dear 
brother,  the  pastor  of  this  church,  clothed  with  the 
spirit  and  with  the  power  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  de- 
sirous of  recovering  the  backsliding  hearts  of  his  peo- 
ple to  holiness  and  peace. 

I have  no  time  now  to  speak  on  this  subject ; but  I 
found  a dear  brother  in  a different  part  of  the  country, 
whose  heart  God  has  affected  in  the  same  way ; and  I 
trust  there  are  many  on  whose  minds  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  begun  to  work.  “ Behold,  I will  send  my  Messen- 
ger before  me,”  &c.  That  is  just  what  we  want. 
“ Behold,  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But 
who  shall  abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ? and  who  shall 
stand  when  he  appeareth?”  Oh!  this  is  a solemn,  a 
serious  time,  when  God’s  servants  come  to  search  the 
hearts  of  his  people.  I ask  every  individual  present, 
— 6 My  brother  ! my  sister  in  Christ ! do  you  feel  that 
the  Spirit  of  God,  through  the  instrumentality  of  his 
ministers,  is  removing  your  past  sins  from  your  bur- 
dened consciences?  is  causing  you  to  put  away  the 
idols  from  your  hearts,  and  to  make  an  unreserved 
surrender  of  yourself  to  his  service  ?’  Oh  ! this  is  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  No  power,  save  the  al- 
mighty energies  of  the  Spirit,  could  ever  produce  such 
a glorious  effect. 

Let  us,  dear  brethren  ! remark  the  peculiarity  of  the 
dispensation  under  which  we  live.  God  has  required 
great  importunity  on  our  part  as  a prerequisite  to  the 
bestowment  of  the  blessing ; and  he  has  left  on  record 
29 


338 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


many  illustrious  examples  of  successful  importunity  in 
prayer.  One  is  the  case  of  Jacob,  who  wrestled  with 
the  angel  till  the  break  of  day,  and  when  remonstrated 
with,  said,  “ I will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless 
me.”  From  this  importunity  on  this  occasion,  and 
from  the  prevalence  of  his  prayer,  his  name  was 
changed  to  Israel , which  virtually  signifies,  a man  of 
fower  with  God . The  men,  who  were  made  the 
honored  instruments  of  giving  freedom  to  the  slaves, 
might  be  said  to  be  men  of  power,  having  had  power 
with  their  sovereign  and  with  their  country;  but  Jacob, 
afterwards  called  Israel,  stands  pre-eminently  entitled 
to  this  appellation,  for  it  is  said  by  Jehovah  himself, 
“ Thy  name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel ; 
for  as  a prince  hast  thou  power  with  God  and  with 
men,  and  hast  prevailed.”  He  takes  hold  of  the  con- 
descending covenant-promises,  and  determines  to  keep 
God  to  his  word,  and  by  his  importunity,  he  prevails. 

A minister  once  said — £ I have  often  been  struck  with 
the  beauty  and  force  of  the  following  illustration : — 
u There  are  two  kinds  of  prayers  to  be  seen  among  pro- 
fessing Christians,  which  may  be  illustrated  thus ; — 
A kind  and  affectionate  mother  has  left  her  children  in 
an  adjoining  room  to  amuse  themselves  with  play.  By 
and  by,  hearing  one  of  them  cry,  she  starts  up  and 
listens  at  the  door,  but  finds  by  the  well-known  tones 
of  their  voices,  that  it  is  only  pretence.  She  resumes 
her  seat ; but  shortly  hearing  notes  of  real  distress 
again  proceeding  from  the  apartment,  she  exclaims, 
‘ My  child  ! my  child  P and  rushes  at  once  to  its  as- 
sistance.” 5 So  it  is  in  the  Church.  Some  men  stand 
up  to  pray ; but  when  God  listens,  he  finds  that  they 
are  only  mocking  him  in  their  prayers.  By  and  by  he 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  339 

hears  another  cry ; he  listens  again,  and  finds  that  it 
proceeds  from  one  of  his  broken-hearted  children ; and, 
true  to  his  promise, — “Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of 
trouble,  and  I will  deliver  thee,” — he  rushes  at  once  to 
his  aid.  If  there  is  a broken-hearted  child  in  this  as- 
sembly, this  morning,  let  him  take  encouragement  from 
this  representation  of  God’s  regard  for  his  dear  chil- 
dren. “ Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I will 
deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me.” 

I have  been  led  to  these  remarks,  dear  brethren ! 
with  the  view  of  showing  the  value  and  importance  of 
importunity  in  prayer.  It  is  a wise  and  a benevolent 
arrangement  on  the  part  of  Jehovah,  that  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  blessings  we  seek  should  be  connected  with 
importunate  prayer. 

One  reason  for  requiring  this  importunity  is,  that  the 
Church  is  often  asking  for  blessings  which  she  is  in  no 
way  prepared  to  receive. 

A second  reason  for  this  importunity  is,  that  the 
Church  is  often  unwilling  to  do  something,  which  God 
requires  to  be  done  in  order  to  the  attainment  of  the 
blessing.  The  Church  is  praying  for  the  Spirit,  but  is 
not  doing,  in  other  respects,  what  God  has  required. 
The  farmer  ploughs  his  field,  and  then  casts  in  his 
seed,  and  waits  for  the  growth  and  maturity  of  the 
crop.  Oh  ! there  is  much  to  be  learned  by  Christians 
in  the  art  of  doing  good.  Whilst  you  are  waiting  for 
the  Spirit,  and  praying  for  the  Spirit,  you  must  be  seek- 
ing for  opportunities  of  casting  in  the  seed  of  the  word. 

A third  reason,  and  the  last  that  we  shall  mention,  is, 
that  the  more  you  pray  for  the  blessing  that  you  need,  the 
greater  will  be  your  desire  for  it.  The  more  you  hold 
converse  with  God,  pleading  for  the  salvation  of  im- 


340  ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE,  &C. 

mortal  souls,  the  more  impressively  will  you  see  their 
value,  and  the  more  intense  will  be  your  desires  for 
their  conversion.  Have  you  come  with  this  desire  this 
morning  ? Is  it  your  concern  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
should  be  poured  out  upon  the  hearts  of  poor  sinners  ? 
Learn  a lesson  from  the  husbandman.  Go  forth,  Chris- 
tians ! plough  up  the  fallow  ground  of  your  immediate 
neighborhoods:  tell  sinners  of  their  delusion,  guilt, 
and  danger ; and  bring  them  here  to  listen  to  the  word. 
O ! sons  and  daughters  of  Israel ! pray  for  the  dews 
of  heaven  to  descend  upon  the  Church,  for  the  south 
wind  to  blow  upon  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  that  it  may 
be  fruitful,  and  filled  with  the  plants  of  life 


ADDRESS  II. 

Dear  Christian  Friends  ! 

I believe  that  we  are  just  as  accountable  for  a 
spiritual  famine,  as  we  are  for  a famine  of  daily  bread 
occurring  by  our  neglect.  If,  in  the  latter  case,  we  had 
omitted  to  do  all,  nay,  if  we  had  neglected  to  do  any 
part  of  that,  which  God  had  appointed  by  us  to  do,  we 
should  have  been  so  far  guilty ; so  far  the  authors  of 
our  own  destitution.  And  I believe,  that  it  is  just  as 
awful  a perversion  in  the  Church  as  it  would  be  in  the 
world,  for  men  to  allege  the  sovereignty  of  God  as  a 
reason  for  disconnecting  the  end  with  the  appointed 
means.  If  a farmer  were  to  say,  ‘ I have  no  power  to 
produce  grain  or  any  other  crop  in  my  fields  ; this 
must  be  the  work  of  God ; he  must  send  the  showers 
from  heaven ; he  must  scatter  abroad  the  genial  rays 
of  the  sun : he  must  cause  the  early  and  the  latter  rain 
to  descend : he  must  protect  the  seed  when  cast  into 
the  ground,  and  the  tender  blade  when  it  first  appears ; 
he  must  watch  over  it  and  ripen  it  to  maturity ; or  a 
single  grain  will  never  grow  — if  he  should  say  this, 
we  should  at  once  reply, — £ All  very  true  ; this  is  a 
position  which  none  will  dispute.’  But,  if  the  farmer 
should  therefore  say, — £ If  God  has  decreed  that  barley 

29* 


342 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


shall  grow  in  this  field,  and  that  wheat  shall  grow  in 
that,  grow  it  will,  and  there  is  no  need  for  my  labor, 
and  anxiety,  and  toil ;’  and,  if  he  should  act  on  this 
principle,  and  neither  plough  the  ground,  nor  sow  the 
seed,  and  the  land  should  be  filled  with  famine, — the 
folly  and  the  wickedness  would  rest  with  the  man. 
The  kingdom  of  God  would  go  on ; there  would  be  no 
interference  with  the  harmony  of  his  plans  or  his  pur- 
poses ; but  the  people,  having  neglected  the  appointed 
means  of  safety,  would  die.  It  is  surprising  how  men 
have  reasoned  the  sovereignity  of  God  out  of  the  nat- 
ural, and  confined  it  to  the  spiritual  world. 

A famine  of  bread  and  of  water,  my  dear  Christian 
friends!  is  an  awful  thing;  but  what  is  this  to  a famine 
of  the  word  of  God  ? A man,  with  a large  family,  who 
lived  in  the  midst  of  one  of  those  spiritual  dearths, 
where  the  word  has  no  power,  where  there  is  no  sol- 
emn exhibition  of  the  truth,  no  weeping  minister,  no 
hearts  bleeding  with  compassion  for  poor  sinners,  went 
to  one  of  the  deacons,  and  said, — “ I can  endure  this  no 
longer ; the  minister  does  not  wield  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  in  power ; the  weapons  of  the  spiritual  warfare 
do  not  prove  themselves  mighty  through  God  to  the 
pulling  down  of  Satan’s  strong  holds.  I see  souls  dying 
around  me  daily ; my  own  family  are  growing  up  in 
sin  for  want  of  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  on  their 
hearts ; we  must  have  a revival  of  religion.”  The  old 
deacon  listened  with  great  attention ; and  then  looking 
very  calm  and  placid,  said,  “ My  dear  brother  ! we  shall 
have  a revival,  if  God  has  decreed  that  we  shall  have 
it ; but  if  it  be  man’s  revival,  it  will  do  no  good.”  The 
young  man  replied,  “ My  dear  father  ! no  man  is  more 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 


343 


diligent  in  his  worldly  business  than  you  are,  and  yet 
no  man  believes  more  firmly  in  the  divine  decrees. 
Now  I want  to  know  whether  you  stop  your  plough- 
man ; or  whether  you  refuse  to  put  your  money  into 
the  bank,  on  this  principle  ? If  God  refuses  to  bless 
your  exertions  you  will  have  no  crop  ; and  if  he  should 
withhold  his  care  of  your  money,  the  bank  will  be  no 
place  of  security.  In  this  mode  of  reasoning,  therefore, 
you  have  been  betraying  the  worldliness  and  wicked- 
ness of  your  heart.  You  dare  not  trust  the  power  nor 
the  goodness  of  God  in  reference  to  temporal  good, 
where  your  own  diligence  can  secure  it ; but  in  refer- 
ence to  the  concerns  of  immortal  souls,  you  shelter 
yourself  behind  the  decrees  of  God,  and  you  wickedly 
refuse  to  employ  the  means  which  he  has  directed  in 
his  word.  In  the  natural  world  the  sovereignty  of  God 
is  no  bar  to  your  exertions ; but  in  the  spiritual  world 
it  must  be  an  extinguisher  upon  every  effort.” 

That  God  saves  the  soul  is  true ; and  that  the  de- 
crees of  God  are  absolute,  eternal,  and  immutable,  we 
do  not  deny.  His  decrees  cover  every  thing;  they 
reach  from  the  movements  of  those , vast  orbs,  which 
roll  through  the  regions  of  immensity,  to  the  disposal 
of  the  minutest  particle  of  matter.  His  decrees  extend 
to  the  movement  of  my  hand  at  this  moment.  There 
is  not  a spoke  in  the  smallest  wheel  of  the  immense 
machinery  but  was  seen  by  God  from  all  eternity. 
There  is  nothing  done  without  God.  You  plough  up 
your  ground,  and  you  put  your  wheat  in  the  field,  un- 
der the  surveillance  of  the  God  of  heaven.  His  decrees, 
I repeat,  extend  to  every  thing ; and  I believe  this  as 
firmly  as  any  man  in  existence  can  believe  it.  I speak 


344 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


not,  then,  against  the  decrees  of  God ; but  against  that 
wicked  inference  which  is  drawn  from  them,  that  man 
is  not  a responsible  and  accountable  agent . I bless 
God,  that  I never  yet  was  able  to  quiet  my  conscience 
with  such  theology.  Woe  upon  the  preaching  which 
suffers  sinners  to  go  down  to  hell,  soothed  with  the  idea 
that  they  are  irresponsible  beings.  We,  saints  or  sin- 
ners, are  not  straitened  in  God.  The  idea  that  man  is 
not  responsible  for  his  want  of  holiness,  is  cherished  by 
the  indolent,  and  cold,  and  selfish,  in  the  Church.  I 
repeat  it,  I am  not  straitened  in  God.  I believe,  in  ref- 
erence to  the  inhabitants  of  London,  in  reference  to  the 
congregation  now  assembled  in  Surrey  chapel,  that  God 
is  more  willing  to  give  us  spiritual  blessings  than  tem- 
poral. God  thinks  infinitely  more  of  his  spiritual  gar- 
den, the  Church,  than  he  does  of  the  fields  of  the  hus- 
bandman, or  of  the  crops  on  the  hills.  “ If  ye  being 
evil,”  says  God,  “ know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly 
Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him 
You  did  not  give  your  child,  whom  you  dearly  love,  a 
stone  when  he  asked  you  for  bread ; nor  a scorpion 
when  he  asked  you  for  fish.  You  gave  him  what  he 
asked.  “ How  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?”  This  one 
doctrine,  then,  rolls  the  whole  guilt  of  neglecting  per- 
ishing sinners  upon  the  Church.  The  Church  has  not 
asked  for  the  holy  Ghost  as  she  ought.  I have  touched 
upon  this  topic  this  morning  to  bring  down  the  awful 
guilt  upon  my  own  soul,  and  to  do  the  same  with  you. 
I would  fain  expand  this  important  subject ; but  it  has 
already  been  keeping  me  too  long  from  the  topic  on 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  345 

which  I am  anxious  to  dwell.  It  is  presented  to  us  in 
Mich.  vi.  2 : 

“ Hear  ye,  O mountains  ! the  Lord’s  controversy,  and 
ye  strong  foundations  of  the  earth  ! for  the  Lord  hath 
a controversy  with  his  people,  and  he  will  plead  with 
Israel.” 

“ The  Lord  hath  a controversy  with  his  people.” 
And  do  you  ask  me,  with  whom?  He  has  a contro- 
versy with  me ; and  he  has  a controversy  with  every 
one  of  his  ministers  who  is  not  willing  to  labor,  and,  if 
necessary,  to  die  for  souls.  I feel  painfully  that  God 
has  a controversy  with  me.  I have  no  right  to  look 
upon  dying  souls,  standing  at  the  open  mouth  of  the 
pit  of  hell,  with  such  feelings  of  heart  as  I do.  God 
has  a controversy  with  his  ministers . Where  are  we 
to  look  for  that  bleeding  compassion  of  heart  which 
seeks  out  sinners,  weeps  over  them,  and  beseeches  and 
entreats  them  to  fly  to  Christ  ? And  you,  my  Christian 
friends  ! God  has  a controversy  with  you.  And  I am 
come  to  plead  this  controversy,  and  to  have  it  settled. 
A solemn  question  is  asked  in  the  prophecies  of  Amos, — 
“ Can  two  walk  together  except  they  be  agreed  ?”  Oh ! 
if  God  be  not  with  us  this  morning,  and  if  we  are  not 
agreed  with  him,  we  shall  be  talking  to  no  purpose  ; 
our  words  will  be  without  power.  But  if  God  be  with 
us,  we  shall  hear  him  sayings  u Fear  not,  thou  worm 
Jacob  ! behold  ! I will  make  thee  a new  sharp  threshing 
instrument,  thou  shalt  thresh  the  mountains  and  beat 
them  small,  and  shalt  make  the  hills  as  chaff.”  He 
can  give  such  power  to  our  lips  that  we  shall  make 
London  tremble.  Oh  ! when  the  heralds  of  the  God 
of  Israel  go  before  his  face,  he  will  smite  “ the  oaks  of 


346 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


Bashan  and  “ all  the  high  mountains”  and  “ the  hills 
that  are  lifted  up”  shall  be  brought  low  ; “ and  the  lofti- 
ness of  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the  haughtiness 
of  men  shall  be  made  low ; and  the  Lord  alone  shall 
be  exalted  in  that  day.”  But  it  is  a dreadful  thing  to 
have  an  unsettled  controversy  with  God  ; for  two  can- 
not walk  together  except  they  be  agreed . 

My  Christian  friends  ! I am  anxious  to  have  this 
controversy  settled  ; and  I have  come  this  morning,  I 
say,  to  plead  the  Lord’s  cause  ; I commence  with  you, 
covenant-people  of  God ! and  I beseech  you  never  to 
look  up  to  us  as  gods  ; never  to  suppose  that  we  can  do 
God’s  work  without  you  ; never  to  imagine  that  any 
success  will  attend  our  exertions  without  your  prayers  : 
for,  if  you  do,  God  will  utterly  confound  us  before  your 
face.  Oh  ! brethren  ! idolize  not  man ; idolize  none 
of  God’s  ministers  ; but  get  down  into  the  dust  and 
honor  God.  By  our  meetings  in  this  place  we  aim  to 
make  a movement  in  the  Church,  and  in  the  world,  at 
which  hell  shall  tremble.  And  our  plan  is  simple  : 
prayer  to  God  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
the  manifestation  of  the  truth  to  every  man’s  conscience. 
It  is  vital  piety,  and  not  a great  machinery,  that  we 
need  for  this  contest.  We  must  not  go  forth  with  Saul’s 
heavy  and  cumbrous  armor,  but  with  the  sling  and 
pebbles,  by  which  the  Goliaths  of  iniquity  are  to  be 
smitten  to  the  ground.  And  do  you  think  that  this  can 
be  done  ? It  can  ; but  you  must  first  settle  your  con- 
troversy with  God. 

In  the  majority  of  those  meetings  which  have  been 
held  in  America  for  the  revival  of  religion,  the  first 
mark  of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was,  the  people 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  347 

of  God  confessing  their  sins,  bewailing  their  unfaithful- 
ness, and  suing  for  pardon.  And,  the  moment  when 
the  people  of  God  became  humbled  in  the  dust,  and 
the  ministers  came  forward  personally  and  confessed 
their  sins,  sinners  began  to  awake,  and  to  cry  for 
mercy.  They  said,  “ It  is  time  that  we  awake ; for 
if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the 
ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear  V 1 And  it  will  be  just 
so  with  you.  If  you  deeply  feel  what  a dreadful  thing 
sin  against  God  is,  you  will  be  humbled,  and  be  led  to 
sue  for  pardon  ; and  it  is  just  in  proportion  as  you, 
Christians,  or  we,  ministers,  get  this  feeling,  that  we 
shall  know  how  to  talk  to  other  men  upon  the  awful 
depravity  and  wickedness  of  their  hearts.  But,  till  this 
controversy  with  God  is  settled,  we  can  do  no  more 
than  open  our  mouths  in  a faint  whisper  for  him.  The 
Church  gets  into  captivity  now,  just  as  the  Church  of 
old  did  : and  at  such  seasons  we  cannot  sing  one  of 
the  songs  of  the  Lord  in  a strange  land;  we  cannot 
open  our  mouths  for  God.  Oh  the  dreadfulness  of  an 
unsettled  controversy ! 

Every  Christian  with  an  unsettled  controversy  is  an 
Achan  in  the  camp.  And  what  a dreadful  character 
is  this  ! The  whole  camp  of  Israel  must  be  impeded 
in  their  march  from  this  one  man  having  taken  the 
Babylonish  garment  and  the  wedge  of  gold,  which  was 
part  of  the  accursed  spoil.  There  may  be  an  Achan 
here  this  morning;  one  who,  from  practices  indulged 
in  secret,  or  from  a careless  disregard  of  prayer  or  other 
known  duties,  is  now  staying  the  descent  of  the  Spirit 
upon  this  congregation,  and  impeding  the  march  of 
God’s  Israel  to  triumph.  Oh  ! my  brethren  ! take  care, 


348 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


take  care,  I beseech  you.  that  you  be  not  placed  in  this 
awful  position  ; that  you  be  not  Achans  in  God’s  camp  ; 
that  you  have  not  coveted  the  Babylonish  garment  and 
the  wedge  of  gold,  or  hid  them  in  your  tents ; that  you 
are  not  hugging  to  your  bosom,  at  this  moment,  that 
which  God  has  pronounced  accursed.  Oh  ! say,  in  all 
the  sincerity  of  your  hearts, — “ Search  me,  O God!  and 
know  my  heart ; try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts  tell 
me  what  is  this  controversy  which  thou  hast  with  me, 
and  let  it  now  be  settled.  If  it  be  a right  arm,  cut  it 
off ; if  it  be  a right  eye,  pluck  it  out ; if  it  be  the  world 
that  is  dear  to  me,  mortify  me  to  it ; or,  if  it  be  prayer 
that  is  neglected,  stir  me  up  in  that  duty.  Lord  ! what 
is  this  controversy  with  me?  What  wedge  of  gold, 
what  Babylonish  garment  lies  hidden  here,  that  thou 
canst  not  bless  me?  Let  me  die  rather  than  be  an 
Achan  to  impede  the  march  of  thine  Israel. 

Brethren  ! a revival  of  religion  is  a personal  matter. 
As  I remarked  yesterday,  “ The  kingdom  of  God  com- 
eth  not  with  observation.”  If  you  settle  this  contro- 
versy, however,  and  if  you  are  earnest  in  prayer,  the 
Lord  will  come  with  power  into  your  hearts.  I know 
not  how  you  may  have  backslidden  from  God;  I 
know  not  what  may  have  been  your  besetting  sins ; 
I know  not  in  the  discharge  of  what  duties  you  may 
have  been  deficient : that  is  a personal  matter — it  rests 
between  God  and  your  own  soul ; but  this  I do  know, 
that  you  must  be  humbled  over  your  backslidings,  re- 
pent of  your  sins,  and  return  to  the  discharge  of  your 
duties,  before  this  controversy  between  God  and  you 
can  be  settled.  If  this  controversy  should  be  with  me, 
and  if  my  cold  heart  should  prevent  the  descent  of 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  349 

the  Holy  Ghost,  I pray  God  it  may  be  settled.  Oh  ! 
brethren  ! let  there  be  deep  searchings  of  heart. 

But  what  is  this  controversy  which  God  has  with 
his  people  ? I might  here  run  over  a list  of  a thousand 
things,  and  thereby  show  you  the  backsliding  of  heart 
and  life  to  which  the  people  of  God  are  sometimes  led; 
but  I shall  confine  myself,  this  morning,  to  one  point 
alone.  It  is  said  in  the  New  Testament,  “ When  the 
Son  of  Man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  in  the  earth  T? 
We  tell  it  to  the  city  of  London,  we  tell  it  to  Britain, 
we  tell  it  to  all  the  world,  that  the  Son  of  Man  is  about 
to  come  on  the  earth ; not,  as  the  Millenarians  teach, 
to  assume  a temporal  authority,  or  to  establish  a per- 
sonal reign  ; but  in  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  hearts  of  thousands,  and  we  hope  millions 
of  our  fellow-men  : and  we  take  shame  to  ourselves 
that  his  coming  has  been  so  long  delayed  for  want  of 
our  fervent  and  united  prayers.  But  suppose  he  does 
come ; have  you  faith  ? Will  you  be  ready  to  receive 
him?  If  not,  God  has  a controversy  with  you  ; for  you 
are  bound  to  have  faith,  which  is  nothing  more  than 
confidence  in  God,  and  believing  what  he  says,  and  yet 
you  dishonor  him  by  your  unbelief. 

I take  the  case  of  the  parent  as  an  illustration  of 
what  I mean.  God  says  to  that  father,  and  to  that 
mother, — c That  child  of  yours  is  hanging  over  the  pit 
of  hell,  and,  unless  you  take  care,  will  soon  be  writh- 
ing in  the  agony  of  eternal  torments.5  And  yet  you 
will  not  believe  him.  You  bow  the  knee  at  the  family- 
altar,  and  you  pour  out  your  words  ; but  there  is  no 
agonizing  or  wrestling  with  God  for  your  child.  1 
suppose  the  child  to  be  exceedingly  ill.  Your  anxiety 

30 


350 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


now  is  all  alive.  You  examine  his  pulse;  you  observe 
the  painful  symptoms  of  disease  ; and  you  send  with 
great  haste  for  the  physician.  And  why?  Because 
you  have  faith  in  the  disease  ; faith  in  the  danger  of 
the  child ; and  faith  in  the  skill  of  the  physician.  Oh  ! 
what  anxiety,  what  use  of  the  appointed  means  of 
recovery,  is  visible  here ! You  sit  up  whole  nights, 
watching  by  the  bed  of  your  darling  child ; you  wait 
with  an  intenseness  of  desire  for  the  hour  when  the 
physician  will  return  ; and  if  he  delays  but  a few  mo- 
ments behind  the  appointed  time,  your  feelings  rise 
almost  to  agony.  And  why  is  it  that  you  feel  and  act 
thus  ? Because  you  believe. 

Make  the  application  of  this,  my  dear  brethren  ! Do 
you  believe  that  your  child  is  an  enemy  to  the  great 
God?  Do  you  believe  that  the  whole  head  is  sick,  and 
the  whole  heart  faint  ? Do  you  believe  that  without 
the  appointed  remedy  he  must  die,  and  die  eternally  ? 
And  have  you  sent  for  the  great  Physician?  and  are 
you  listening  at  the  door,  or  watching  his  countenance, 
to  see  if  you  can  discover  any  hope  of  recovery  ? Oh  ! 
there  is  balm  in  Gilead ; there  is  a physician  there  ; 
and  yet  for  want  of  faith  your  child  is  not  healed.  Go, 
like  the  Syrophoenician  woman  to  our  Lord,  and  say, 
My  daughter,  my  daughter,  is  sore  vexed  with  a 
devil.  Lord ! help  me.”  Is  there  a man  here  who 
says  that  this  is  extravagant  ? I tell  that  man  that  he 
gives  the  lie  to  the  whole  Bible.  I believe  in  the 
warning  and  burning  truths  of  the  Bible  ; and  I delight 
to  present  them  to  my  hearers,  because  I know  that 
we  all  need  to  be  aroused.  Just  take  that  one  example, 
dear  brethren  ! — the  example  of  unbelief  presented  in 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 


351 


your  indifference  about  the  souls  of  your  children  ; and 
begin  to  plead  with  God  in  earnest,  and  to  give  him  no 
rest  until  he  shall  come  and  heal. 

I would  not  thus  expand  this  subject,  but  I want  to 
lead  you  to  settle  your  controversy  with  God.  Why 
am  I so  cold,  so  indifferent  about  the  salvation  of  souls, 
so  unlike  the  Son  of  God  ? Why  are  the  children  of  a 
king  so  lean  ? Why  this  want  of  spiritual  health  ? 
Why  this  coldness  in  prayer,  this  sluggishness  in  duty, 
this  backwardness  in  doing  God’s  work  ? Oh  ! my 
brother ! my  sister ! settle  your  personal  controversy 
with  God;  and  let  Christ  have  delight  in  coming  to 
his  garden  and  eating  his  pleasant  fruit.  Come  to  the 
altar  of  God  now,  and  plead  down  the  blessing.  If 
you  all  settle  your  controversy  with  God ; if  you  all 
become  reconciled  with  his  dear  Son ; if  you  all  obtain 
the  witness  of  God’s  Spirit  with  your  spirit,  what  a 
blessed  meeting  this  will  have  been ! If  we  have  been 
up  to  the  mount,  and  have  held  converse  with  our 
Father,  then  our  faces  will  shine  as  did  the  face  of 
Moses,  the  beauty  of  which  we  shall  be  unable  to  con- 
ceal from  the  world. 

But  suppose  God  should  favor  us  with  a revival  of 
religion,  what  will  be  its  effect  upon  the  world?  I will 
tell  you.  A minister  once  said, — “ The  Church  of  God 
is  like  a column  of  air.  When  the  air  becomes  rarified 
it  rises  up,  and  other  air  from  around  rushes  in  to  sup- 
ply its  place.”  Just  so  is  it  with  the  Church.  The 
moment  the  Church  of  God  rises  in  spiritual  warmth 
toward  heaven,  it  rises,  and  rises,  as  a cloud,  and  it 
carries  others  along  with  it.  The  warm  air  has 
ascended ; and  the  dense  atmosphere  has  rushed  to 


352  ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE,  &C. 

supply  its  place.  Christians  having  been  aroused  to  a 
sense  of  their  responsibilities  and  privileges,  sinners 
flock  around,  witnessing  the  effect  which  has  been  pro- 
duced. Are  there  any  such  present  this  morning? 
Sinners ! God  has  a controversy  with  you.  Oh  ! I 
beseech  you,  I beseech  you,  as  though  God  did  beseech 
by  me, — I beseech  you  in  Christ’s  stead, — as  though 
the  blessed  Jesus  stood  where  I now  stand, — 1 beseech 
you,  “ Be  ye  reconciled  to  God  !”  O sinners ! 
delay  not  one  moment ; “ tarry  not  in  all  the  plain 
go  to  God  at  once  by  Jesus  Christ. 


ADDRESS  III. 


Christian  Friends  ! 

It  is  a very  interesting’  sight,  as  your  beloved  pastor 
has  remarked,  to  see  at  this  hour  of  the  day,  and  that, 
too,  on  one  of  the  busiest  days  of  the  week,  so  many 
persons  assembled  together  for  the  purpose  of  prayer : 
and  it  brings  no  small  responsibility  upon  him  who 
has  undertaken  to  guide  the  minds  of  this  assembly.  I 
feel  no  hesitation,  my  beloved  brethren  ! in  holding  up 
to  you,  and  all  my  fellow-Christians,  this  one  subject — 
the  desirableness  there  is  that  the  eternal  Spirit,  the 
almighty  Agent  of  conversion  and  sanctification,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  should  come 
into  every  heart  in  this  assembly ; and  the  desirable- 
ness there  is  that  this  eternal  Spirit  should  come  down, 
in  his  quickening  and  sanctifying  influences,  upon  all 
our  churches.  I am  impressed  with  the  importance, 
and  with  the  solemn  duty,  of  urging  upon  this  congre- 
gation the  necessity  of  prayer  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
descend  upon  them,  upon  every  church  of  Christ,  and 
upon  the  whole  race  of  man. 

Our  subject , then:  is  the  desirableness  of  prayer  for 
the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit. 

Prayer  includes  two  sentiments — the  heart’s  deep 
feeling  of  its  necessities,  and  an  assured  confidence  that 
30* 


354 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


God  will  give  the  blessings  sought.  The  first  of  these 
is  spiritual  desire , the  second  is  faith. 

Let  holy  desires  be  enkindled  in  our  hearts.  You 
have  heard  that,  when  the  disciples  met  to  wait  for  the 
promise  of  the  Father,  they  were  all  of  one  accord. 
Their  minds  were  set  upon  some  great  object;  they 
were  in  expectation  of  some  great  event,  some  mighty 
resting  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the  souls  of  his  people. 
Hence  they  went  as  humble  suppliants,  and  waited  on 
God  till  the  blessing  came. 

A respected  brother  of  a different  denomination,  (Mr. 
Stevenson,)  has  said  that  we  are  all  agreed  about  some- 
thing. I bless  God  that  we  are ; and  when  we  get  to 
heaven  we  shall  be  agreed  about  every  thing.  We 
shall  be  of  one  accord.  There  is  one  great  subject  that 
would  make  one  vast  prayer-meeting  of  the  whole 
Church  of  God,  and  that  one  subject  is  the  necessity 
and  the  desirableness  of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  there  is  none  but  needs  to  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost ; and  my  humble  endeavor  is  now,  under 
the  blessing  of  God,  to  increase  the  sense  of  that  want 
in  the  hearts  of  all  his  people.  May  we  now  enjoy  the 
sense  of  his  presence  ! 

We  want  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  if  there  is  desire 
enough,  and  faith  enough,  we  shall  receive  the  Holy 
Ghost.  But  what  will  be  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  upon  our  hearts  when  he  does  come  ? I will  not 
run  over  all  the  wide  field,  but  will  select  here  and 
there  a few  solitary  proofs  of  his  presence. 

And,  First,  If  the  Spirit  of  God  descend  upon  this 
assembly , we  shall  find  what  has  been  the  cause  of  his 
absence. 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  355 

Blessed  be  God,  we  have  felt  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
at  the  meeting  just  held  in  Mr.  Sherman’s  house,  and 
we  desire  him  to  visit  us  again.  When  he  comes,  it  is 
not  to  convince  us  of  general  truths,  but  of  that  which 
concerns  us  personally.  He  tells  us  what  is  the  cause 
of  his  absence;  he  points  out  the  particular  sins  of 
which  we  have  been  guilty ; he  reveals  the  nature  and 
causes  of  our  backsliding  from  God  ; he  stamps  an  in- 
dividuality upon  our  particular  failings  and  short- 
comings ; he  holds  up  the  glass  to  our  eyes,  and  makes 
us  look  at  ourselves  as  we  really  are. 

Religion,  we  know,  is  a personal  matter  ; and  when 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  come,  the  u family  of  the  house 
of  David  shall  mourn  apart,  and  their  wives  apart ; 
the  family  of  the  house  of  Nathan  apart,  and  their 
wives  apart ; the  family  of  the  house  of  Levi  apart, 
and  their  wives  apart ; the  family  of  Shimei  apart,  and 
their  wives  apart ; all  the  families  that  remain,  every 
family  apart,  and  their  wives  apart.”  Such  is  the  work 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  comes  to  take  us  apart,  to 
show  us  individually  the  deformity  of  our  backslidings, 
to  lead  us  to  mourn  over  them  apart,  and  to  constrain 
us  to  plead  anew  for  sanctifying  grace.  This  personal 
influence  we  need  that  we  may  see  our  individual  sins. 
Oh  that  he  may  show  us  why  we  were  so  dead,  why 
our  hearts  did  not  break  under  the  power  of  his  word ; 
why  we  could  be  content  to  live  at  such  a distance 
from  him  ; why  we  were  satisfied  when  doing  so  little 
for  his  cause ! No  individual  man  can  tell  you,  but 
the  Holy  Ghost  can.  He  can  whisper  to  your  con- 
science, and  show  you  where  the  evil  lies.  Pray  for 
him  to  come,  then,  and  show  you  why  you  are  so  cold. 


356 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


why  you  have  no  more  delight  in  the  service  of  Jesus 
Christ,  no  more  devotedness  to  him.  Pray  for  him  to 
come  upon  you  as  the  Spirit  of  life.  Pray  for  him  to 
come  and  convince  the  world  of  sin,  and  the  Church 
of  her  hackslidings  from  God.  The  Church  is  in  cap- 
tivity, and  she  must  be  made  to  break  the  yoke  of  her 
thraldom,  and  stand  forth,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
invested  with  that  glorious  freedom  to  which  she  is 
entitled,  by  virtue  of  the  union  that  she  sustains  to  her 
great  Head. 

Secondly,  If  the  Spirit  of  God  descends  upon  this 
assembly , he  will  shed  abroad  the  love  of  Christ  in 
your  hearts. 

How  sweet  is  the  love  of  Christ ! How  desirable  to 
have  the  love  of  Christ  “shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us  !”  To  be  like 
Christ,  to  love  Christ;  this  is  heaven  begun.  And  we 
have  heaven  in  our  souls,  and  the  enjoyment  of  heaven 
in  prospect,  just  in  proportion  as  we  have  love  to 
Christ,  and  likeness  to  his  image.  But  we  want  more 
love  to  Christ,  and  we  must  have  more  likeness  to 
Christ.  And  how  is  this  to  be  obtained?  No  sermon 
can  do  it ; even  prayer  itself  will  not  do  it ; but  prayer 
will  do  it  by  bringing  down  the  Spirit.  Let  us,  then, 
put  ourselves  in  a prayerful  and  waiting  posture  for 
the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost ! 

<c  I will  spread  the  sail, 

Blow  thou  the  breeze,  and  waft  me  to  my  home.,, 

If  God  calls  men  to  be  the  partakers  of  his  grace,  and 
if  the  love  of  Christ  is  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts, 
they  will  be  willing  to  wear  out  in  his  service.  The 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION. 


357 


love  of  Christ  constrains  them.  They  are  willing 
to  do  any  thing  for  Christ  so  long  as  he  gives  them 
strength. 

We  want  more  of  this  love.  We  must  not  be  so 
selfish  in  our  religious  feelings.  We  must  have  the 
Spirit  of  God  as  a spirit  of  compassion  to  perishing 
sinners.  If  we  saw  the  actual  condition  of  sinners, 
their  deep  depravity  and  guilt,  their  hideous  deformity 
in  the  sight  of  God,  we  should  not  be  able  to  rest  by 
day  or  by  night.  We  want  the  Holy  Ghost  to  show 
us  their  actual  condition ; to  show  us  how  hateful 
they  are  in  God’s  sight ; and  to  show  us  upon  what 
a fearful  precipice  they  stand.  No  man  can  show 
us ; nothing  but  the  Spirit  of  God  can  do  this.  But 
when  he  begins  to  exhibit  the  awful  danger  of  sinners, 
and  the  certainty  of  their  destruction,  the  Church  is 
aroused  from  her  stupor,  and  puts  up  her  prayers,  and 
combines  her  efforts  on  their  behalf.  How  tenderly 
did  the  Apostle  Paul  feel,  when  he  said,  “ My  con- 
science beareth  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  I 
have  great  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow  in  my 
heart;  for  I could  wish  that  myself  were  accursed 
from  Christ  for  my  brethren,  my  kinsmen  according 
to  the  flesh  !”  How  earnest,  how  intense,  was  his 
desire  for  the  salvation  of  his  brethren ! And  such 
is  the  effect  of  the  love  of  Christ  wherever  it  is  pos- 
sessed. It  is  a love  that  works  ; it  is  a love  that 
warms  ; it  is  a love  that  instructs  ; it  is  a love  that 
beseeches  ; it  is  a love  that  prays  for,  that  bleeds  for, 
and  that  dies  for  poor  sinners,  if  called  to  it  by  the 
pr&vidence  of  God.  If  this  love  for  Christ  dwelt  in 
the' hearts  of  professing  Christians  as  it  ought;  if  it 


358 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


existed  in  our  churches  to  the  extent  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that  it  should ; how  differently  would  they 
act ! Oh ! if  we  possessed  this  love,  there  is  not  a 
street  in  London,  there  is  not  an  alley,  nor  a lane, 
in  which  the  voice  of  tearful  and  warning  expostu- 
lation would  not  be  heard.  We  should  seek  out 
sinners,  we  should  weep  over  them  ; we  should  warn 
them,  and  “ compel  them  to  come  in.”  Oh  ! there 
is  too  little  sympathy  with  the  compassion  of  Christ 
in  our  churches  ; they  are  lukewarm,  they  are  lifeless 
and  dead.  Zion  is  at  ease ; and  you,  her  members, 
are  willing  to  go  home  to  your  lovely  families,  to 
your  well-furnished  houses,  to  your  cheerful  fire-sides, 
and  to  your  well-spread  tables,  and  see  your  neigh- 
bors going  to  hell,  without  so  much  as  an  effort  to 
effect  their  escape.  When  I say  you,  I mean  myself. 
O this  insensible  heart ! how  little  does  it  weep  over 
sinners  ! how  little  does  it  bleed  for  their  woes  ! And 
is  it  better  with  you  ? Oh  ! to  have  the  compassionate 
mind  that  was  in  Christ ! The  want  of  this  makes  us 
feel  our  want  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Thirdly,  If  the  Holy  Ghost  should  come  as  we 
desire  and  have  prayed  for,  I will  tell  you  how  he  will 
come, — Sinners  will  flock  to  your  sanctuaries  until 
you  have  not  sufficient  room  to  hold  them. 

How  different  is  the  preaching  of  ministers  in  a 
time  of  revival  ! The  world  hears  of  the  change, 
and  comes  to  listen  to  them.  The  world  says, — ‘ This 
is  the  kind  of  preaching  that  will  do  us  good.’  Yes  ; 
and  they  are  better  judges  of  this  matter  than  some 
of  you  may  be  ready  to  think.  I have  heard  men, 
during  a time  of  revival,  who,  by  the  strength  of 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  359 


their  language,  and  frequency  of  their  appeals,  have 
so  galled  and  offended  the  impenitent,  that  they  have 
gone  out,  condemning  the  preachers,  and  saying  that 
they  would  never  come  again;  but  these  same  per- 
sons have  been  found  in  attendance  on  the  next 
sermon.  Whether  they  love  or  hate  the  preaching, 
they  will  come  to  hear  it ; and  God  will  humble 
their  hearts,  make  them  bow  down  to  truth,  and  bring 
them  to  himself.  The  apostle  Paul  said, — « Brethren  ! 
pray  for  us , that  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  have 
free  course  and  be  glorified and  we,  his  uninspired 
successors,  say, — { pray  for  us,  that  we  may  be 
faithful  to  our  trust,  and  successful  in  our  work.’ 
We  cannot  do  without  your  prayers.  The  arduous 
nature  of  our  work,  and  the  opposition  we  have  to 
encounter,  demand  your  prayers.  Pray  for  your  min- 
ister, brethren ! and  pray  for  us,  that  we  may  have 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  hearts ; and  shed  abroad  the 
spirit  of  prayer. 

The  melancholy  termination  of  every  revival  has 
been  caused  by  the  withdrawal  of  divine  influence, 
and  that  by  the  sins  of  the  Church.  The  efforts  at 
first  were  great,  and  great  good  was  effected.  But 
in  a short  time  there  was  lukewarmness  of  heart, 
and  they  settled  down  again  upon  their  lees.  I hope 
that  there  will  be  such  a revival  of  religion  here  as 
will  continue  to  the  end  of  time.  We  do  not  want 
periodical  revivals  ; but  we  want  a revival  for  this 
year,  for  the  next,  and  for  all  the  periods  of  future 
time,  to  continue  till  the  blast  of  the  archangel’s  trump 
is  heard.  To  secure  this  we  want  the  Spirit  of  God 
as  a spirit  of  prayer.  Like  Jacob,  who  wrestled  with 


360 


ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE 


the  angel,  “ till  the  morning  light,”  we  must  say, — 
“ I will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  me.”  And 
this  must  be  not  the  transient  impulse  of  the  heart 
merely,  but  one  continued  and  persevering  deter- 
mination. If  a revival  should  be  granted,  and  we 
should  then  turn  aside,  the  blame  and  the  sin  would 
rest  with  ourselves. 

There  is  often  much  in  a revival  of  religion  that  no 
eye  can  see.  Some  poor,  but  consistent,  mother  in  Is- 
rael, perhaps,  has  great  power  with  God  in  her  closet. 
The  state  of  those  around  her  affects  her  heart,  and  she 
retires  to  her  closet  and  pours  out  her  heart  in  prayer. 
She  prays  for  her  minister ; and  she  makes  him  power- 
ful by  the  prevalency  of  her  prayers.  The  world  sees 
his  power  of  persuasion,  and  his  increased  earnestness 
and  success  in  his  work,  but  they  know  not  all  the  links 
of  the  golden  chain.  Ye  aged  mothers  in  Israel ! we 
look  to  you  for  your  prayers.  Forget  us  not  when  you 
retire  to  your  closets.  Pray  that  our  hands  may  be 
strengthened  by  the  Almighty  God  of  Jacob. 

I have  one  more  reason  to  offer,  to  show  the  desira- 
bleness of  our  praying  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit, 
and  that  is : 

That , if  the  Spirit  shall  descend  in  answer  to  our 
prayers , there  will  be  a great  awakening  of  sinners  to 
a sense  of  their  danger . 

In  the  midst  of  some  of  our  revivals  in  America,  it  is 
astonishing  what  effects  have  been  produced.  Convic- 
tions, of  the  most  astonishing  kind,  have  been  brought 
under  our  notice.  When  the  Spirit  of  God  has  moved 
upon  the  hearts  of  a community  in  answer  to  prayer,  a 
single  passage  of  Scripture,  or  a single  warning  or  ex 


THE  REVIVAL  OF  RELIGION.  361 

hortation  delivered  at  some  former  period,  has  come 
with  overwhelming  power  to  the  minds  of  the  impeni- 
tent. I remember  a remarkable  instance,  which  may 
serve  to  illustrate  my  meaning.  The  young  man  re- 
lated this  story  to  me  himself.  His  father  and  mother 
were  going  to  a protracted  meeting  for  a revival  of  re- 
ligion in  the  neighborhood,  and  they  desired  him  to 
accompany  them.  He  had  no  desire  for  such  meetings, 
and  determined  not  to  go.  His  parents  then  went,  and 
left  him  at  home  ; but  you  may  be  sure  that  they  did 
not  neglect  to  pray  for  him.  After  they  were  gone  he 
began  to  feel  uneasy,  and  wished  that  he  had  accom- 
panied  them.  He  determined,  however,  to  drive  away 
the  thought,  and  tried  to  amuse  himself,  taking  up  first 
one  thins’  and  then  another.  He  still  felt  a dreadful 
chasm.  He  then  thought  that  he  heard  a voice  saying 
to  him,  “ Come,  and  let  us  reason  together,55  &c.  He 
tried  to  get  rid  of  it,  but  in  vain.  The  voice  seemed 
to  say, — £ It  is  thy  God  who  says  it ; if  you  have  any 
thing  to  say,  answer  your  God  ; come.  Is  it  not  rea- 
sonable that  you  should  love  him?5  He  again  tried  to 
get  rid  of  it,  and  went  into  another  part  of  the  house 
for  the  purpose,  but,  a Come,  let  us  reason  together,55 
vfcc.,  still  sounded  in  his  ears,  and  so  continued  to  fol- 
low him,  that  he  at  last  cast  himself  on  his  knees,  and 
cried  out, — ‘ My  God,  I have  no  reason  ; I am  a most 
unreasonable  sinner.5  He  arose  from  his  knees,  went 
to  the  protracted  meeting,  and  placed  himself  beside  his 
father  and  mother,  to  whom  he  related  what  had  oc- 
curred. This  was  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  on  his  soul,  which  resulted  in  his  conversion. 

Many  such  things  as  this  may  occur  among  you,  if 
31 


362  ADDRESSES  TO  PROMOTE,  &C. 

the  Spirit  of  God  should  now  come  in  answer  to  our 
prayers.  If  not,  we  may  abandon  our  meetings  and 
return  to  our  worldly  avocation  ; or  rather  humble  our- 
selves and  wait  upon  the  Lord  until  he  come.  Impeni- 
tent sinner  ! we  want  the  Spirit  for  you,  to  convince 
you  of  your  danger,  and  to  lead  you  to  fly  to  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  sinner’s  friend.  Oh ! let  us,  my  dear 
brethren ! pray  for  the  spirit ; and  let  us  determine  to 
give  God  no  rest  until  “ the  day-spring  from  on  high 
hath  visited  us.” 


V - 


